Anxiety (Episode 3 - Archive)Anxiety (Episode 3 - Archive)
Relational Recovery
The episode focuses on anxiety, faith and recovery, using Matthew 6 and Abraham’s story to question performance-based views of God’s love. The hosts talk about failure and challenge as expected parts of trusting God in difficult circumstances.
6:04•21 Jul 2026
Faith, Anxiety and Failure: Rethinking Trust in Hard Times
Episode Overview
- Trust in God is presented as an act of faith, especially when circumstances feel uncaring or even vindictive.
- The hosts stress that success or doing the right thing is not what earns God’s love.
- Abraham’s story is used to show that fear, deceit and early failures are part of many spiritual journeys.
- Reading Matthew 6 alongside Old Testament passages is said to shift perspective on worry and God’s care.
- Failure and challenge are described as expected features of everyone’s recovery and faith journey, not signs of disqualification.
“Our success isn't connected to him loving us, us doing the right thing isn't connected to him loving us.”
How do people find hope in the darkest times? This conversation from Relational Recovery focuses on anxiety, faith, and the gap between what people feel and what they believe. Aimed at those wrestling with unwanted behaviours and addiction, the episode brings together Christian spirituality and psychology to look at how trust in God affects everyday worry. Host Wes Thompson, joined by co-host Austin Hill, talks about the struggle of believing that God cares, especially when life feels anything but caring.
As one of them puts it, "our success isn't connected to him loving us, us doing the right thing isn't connected to him loving us." That simple idea pushes back against the pressure to perform or be "good enough" to deserve love. The episode centres on Matthew 6 and an Old Testament reading about Abraham. You'll hear how Abraham's story, full of fear, deceit and messy choices, mirrors modern anxiety.
Abraham pretends his wife is his sister to protect himself, showing that even someone central to the biblical story wrestled with trust right from the start. This becomes a comfort: "Failures to be expected and challenges to be expected" is a repeated reminder. There’s also a thoughtful look at perspective. Human focus tends to be on the immediate moment or the next few years, while the hosts point out that God's perspective is described as much wider and longer.
That contrast can be unsettling, but it offers a different way to view setbacks, unanswered prayers, or slow progress in recovery. The tone stays honest and down-to-earth, mixing scripture, personal study, and practical reflection on anxiety, worry about tomorrow, and faith in the middle of uncertainty. If you're tired of feeling like setbacks mean you've failed spiritually or in recovery, this episode may give you space to breathe and think differently.
How might your journey change if failure was expected rather than feared?
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