#018 The Anxiety Generation: What to Do When Your Mind Won't Rest

📱 TL;DR

45% of young adults are struggling with mental health, but God never intended you to carry burdens He's willing to take—cast all your anxiety on Him because He actually cares for you.

Welcome, Family

This week hit us like a freight train.

Maybe it's because everywhere we look, we see the same story playing out. Young adults lying awake at 3 AM with racing thoughts. Students having panic attacks in college libraries. Twenty-somethings so paralyzed by decision anxiety they can't choose what to order for lunch.

Your generation has been labeled many things, but here's the label that breaks our hearts: The Anxiety Generation.

The statistics are staggering. 45% of young people reported struggling with their mental health within the past two years. A quarter of young people ages 10 to 24 said they don't feel supported by family. 29% had engaged in or considered self-harm.

But here's what's stirring in our hearts: Your anxiety isn't evidence that God doesn't care—it's evidence that you're carrying burdens He never intended you to bear.

🍞 This Week's Bread

• ⏳ The Sign: Why your generation is drowning in anxiety and what the statistics reveal

• 📖 The Word: 1 Peter 5:7: The revolutionary idea that God actually wants your worries

• 🌍 The Witness: What happens when people actually cast their cares on God

• 🔥 The Work: Three practices for moving from anxiety to peace

• ⚡ Midweek Power: Wednesday night prayer for mental health breakthrough

• 🙏 Prayer Corner: Believing God for peace that passes understanding

📚 This Week's (Virtual) Bible Study

Friday, August 29th (8-10 PM ET):

[🔗 Join Live Study] | [📱 Request Replay Link]

Can't make it live? We'll send you the recording!

⏳ The Sign

The headlines keep coming, and they're getting more alarming. "Far too many teens and young adults are struggling with their mental health: In 2024, a quarter of young people ages 10 to 24 said they did not feel supported by family, 45% reported struggling with their mental health within the past two years."

But here's what really caught our attention: 71% of adults feel that children and teens have more mental health problems than they did 10 years ago.

Think about what that means. This isn't just about individual struggles—this is about an entire generation living under a level of psychological pressure that previous generations never experienced.

The numbers are staggering. 11% of children ages 3-17 had current, diagnosed anxiety. Depression grew by 300% from 1987 to 1997, and it's only gotten worse since then.

But here's the question that's been haunting us: If we have more mental health awareness, more therapy options, more medications, and more resources than ever before—why is your generation more anxious than any previous generation?

Maybe the problem isn't just psychological. Maybe it's spiritual.

Maybe you're trying to carry burdens that were never meant for human shoulders. 

📖 The Word

This might be the most revolutionary verse in the entire Bible for your generation.

Look at what Peter is saying: "Cast ALL your anxiety." Not some of it. Not just the big stuff. Not just the things that seem "spiritual" enough. ALL of it.

The Greek word for "cast" is epirripto—it means to throw upon with force. This isn't gently placing your worries before God like you're setting down fine china. This is hurling your anxiety at Him with everything you've got.

God can handle your mental breakdown. He can handle your 3 AM panic attacks. He can handle your existential dread about the future. He's not overwhelmed by the intensity of your worry—He's inviting you to throw it all on Him.

But here's the part that changes everything: "because he cares for you."

The word for "cares" is meló—it means to be concerned about, to have interest in. But it's not just polite interest. It's the deep, personal care of someone who is emotionally invested in your wellbeing.

Your anxiety matters to God because you matter to God. He's not telling you to cast your cares on Him because He has nothing better to do. He's telling you to do it because every worry that keeps you awake at night keeps Him concerned for you.

This isn't God being bothered by your problems—this is God being bothered that you're trying to handle them alone.

And notice what Peter doesn't say. He doesn't say, "Stop being anxious." He doesn't say, "Just have more faith." He doesn't say, "Think positive thoughts."

🌍 The Witness

Look at what happens when people actually take God up on this offer.

David wrote most of the Psalms while running from people trying to kill him. He was anxious, afraid, and overwhelmed. But instead of pretending he was fine, he threw his anxiety at God in prayer. "Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you," he wrote in Psalm 55:22.

The result? David became known as a man after God's own heart.

Elijah had such severe anxiety after confronting the prophets of Baal that he wanted to die. He ran into the wilderness and told God he was done.

But instead of condemning Elijah for his mental health crisis, God fed him, let him rest, and gave him a new mission.

Paul wrote about being "afflicted in every way" and "perplexed" and facing pressures beyond his ability to endure. But he also wrote, "The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

These weren't people who had it all together. They were people who learned to give their anxiety to Someone who could handle what they couldn't.

🔥 The Work

Before you dismiss this as "just pray more" or feel condemned for your mental health struggles, let's get practical with three anxiety-to-peace practices:

1. Name it, claim it, give it away

When anxiety hits, don't ignore it—acknowledge it specifically. Say out loud: "I'm anxious about _______." Then say: "This anxiety belongs to me, but I'm giving it to God because He cares for me." Be specific about what you're casting on Him.

2. Replace worry with worship

Philippians 4:6-7 says don't be anxious about anything, but pray about everything with thanksgiving. When you catch yourself spiraling, immediately shift to thanking God for three things. 

This isn't toxic positivity—it's redirecting your mind from what could go wrong to who's in control.

3. Act like God has your anxiety

If you've truly cast your cares on God, stop trying to solve them yourself. Take the next faithful step, but stop obsessing over outcomes. If you've given your future to God, stop trying to control it. This is where faith meets mental health.

⚡ Midweek Power

This Wednesday night (August 27th, 8-9 PM ET), we're praying specifically for mental health breakthroughs—not just managing anxiety, but experiencing the peace of God.

We've been seeing incredible breakthrough as people learn to actually cast their cares on God instead of just talking about it. Panic attacks stopping. Sleep returning. Peace that literally doesn't make sense given the circumstances.

📅 Set A Reminder for Prayer Night!

Come ready to pray for:

• Freedom from anxiety, depression, and mental health struggles

• Learning to actually cast your cares on God instead of carrying them

• Peace that surpasses understanding in impossible circumstances

• Professional help and godly counselors for those who need them

🙏 PRAYER CORNER

We're interceding for:

• Young adults paralyzed by anxiety about their future, career, and relationships

• Those dealing with panic attacks, depression, and suicidal thoughts

• Parents watching their children struggle with mental health and feeling helpless

• This generation to discover that God actually wants to carry what they can't

If you're struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out for help: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988

📅 What's Next

Friday, August 29th (8-10 PM ET): Virtual Bible Study
[🔗 Join Live Study] | [📱 Request Replay Link]

📣 Take Action:

• Forward this to someone struggling with identity or social media pressure

• Follow @mogakaeventsministry on Instagram for daily identity reminders

• DM us for prayer about authenticity and identity struggles

📣 Take Action

Forward this to someone who's been wrestling with religious hurt or moral confusion.

Follow @mogakaeventsministry on Instagram for daily encouragement and biblical clarity.

DM us for prayer or if you need wisdom about a specific moral decision.

✝️ Final Word

Here's what we need to settle: Your anxiety isn't a sign of weak faith—it's a sign that you're human.

But trying to carry burdens that belong to God will crush you every time. Your mind wasn't designed to hold the weight of an uncertain future, broken relationships, global chaos, and personal fears all at the same time.

The solution isn't to stop caring. The solution is to give your cares to Someone who can actually do something about them.

God isn't asking you to stop being human. He's asking you to stop trying to be God. He's not telling you to have it all together. He's telling you that He has it all together for you.

Your generation is drowning in anxiety because you're carrying burdens that were never meant for your shoulders. But the same God who knit you together in your mother's womb is inviting you to throw every worry, every fear, every "what if" at Him with full force.

Not because He has to, but because He wants to. Not because you deserve it, but because you matter to Him.

Stop trying to manage your anxiety and start giving it away. The God who created the universe can handle whatever is keeping you awake at night.

With you always,
Mogaka Events Ministry

Come As You Are is a Spirit-led devotional for young adults hungry for God's presence. Written by Ravi Patel and Chris Mogaka.