Anxiety (Episode 4 - Archive)Anxiety (Episode 4 - Archive)
Relational Recovery
Wes Thompson and Austin Hill talk about anxiety from a Christian recovery perspective, linking worry to a lack of trust in God’s care. They suggest that focusing on honest, present-day choices and relying on God can ease fear and support healing from unwanted behaviours.
5:53•22 Jul 2026
Trust, Anxiety and Recovery: Letting Go of Fear One Day at a Time
Episode Overview
- Anxiety is framed less as a behaviour to shut down and more as a signal to lean into deeper trust in God.
- The phrase “do not be anxious” is linked to God’s care for practical needs like food, drink and clothing.
- Trusting God frees people from trying to control every outcome, which often fuels anxious thinking.
- Fear-driven choices, like those in the story of Abraham, are contrasted with living truthfully and courageously in the present.
- Shifting focus from tomorrow’s worries to today’s actions is presented as a proactive way to support recovery from unwanted behaviours.
“We tend to focus a lot of attention on the command, do not be anxious, but we miss the invitation to trust.”
How do people cope with the challenges of staying sober when anxiety keeps shouting worst-case scenarios in their ear? This conversation from the Relational Recovery podcast tackles that question head-on through a faith-centred lens. Host Wes Thompson and co-host Austin Hill reflect on Jesus’ words, “Don’t be anxious about your life,” and ask the harder follow-up: how on earth are you meant to do that when life feels like chaos?
They argue it isn’t a harsh “just stop it” command, but an invitation to trust: “We tend to focus a lot of attention on the command, do not be anxious, but we miss the invitation to trust.” Drawing on scripture, they point out that God cares about “all those little details” like food, drink, and clothing, and that this care becomes the foundation for letting go of obsessive worry.
Anxiety, they suggest, grows when you feel you must create and control everything yourself: “Without God, there is anxiety because then we’re left with having to create everything on our own.” For anyone in recovery from unwanted behaviours or addictions, the pair frame trust in God as a practical step, not just a spiritual slogan.
Instead of being frozen by fear of tomorrow, they encourage a proactive focus on living truthfully today – being present with family, making honest choices, and refusing to let fear dictate behaviour, like in the biblical story of Abraham trying to protect himself by lying. The heart of their message is simple but challenging: anxiety lessens as trust grows.
Or as they picture it, if life is a scary journey, God is “the warrior that’s going to walk alongside you… you’re going to be okay.” If anxiety has been steering your recovery, this conversation might help you ask a new question: what would change if you trusted that you’re already being held?
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