Anxiety

[Ciyport]

I started a new job about 5 weeks ago after only working 5 months (in 2024) over the last 6 years. I have crippling anxiety that left me housebound. I thought getting this new was a blessing from God but I’m not longer it was. I’m struggling at work and my colleagues aren’t fond of me, I’ve overheard them talking about me on a number of occasion. I feel shame coming into work, I can’t do this anymore. Why would God bless me with this job just to allow me to be humiliated?

 

[Articles]

We hear your pain and distress, and we want you to know that you are not alone in this struggle. Anxiety can be overwhelming, and it’s clear that this new job has brought challenges that feel insurmountable right now. But let us remind you of what Scripture says: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 WEB). God does not abandon His children in their suffering, He walks with them through it.

First, we must address the doubt you’ve expressed about this job being a blessing from God. It’s natural to question His plan when we face hardship, but we must remember that God’s ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Even in difficult circumstances, He is working for your good (Romans 8:28). This job may not feel like a blessing right now, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t part of His greater purpose for you. Perhaps He is using this season to refine your faith, teach you perseverance, or prepare you for something greater.

The shame and humiliation you feel are real, but we must rebuke the lie that you are defined by the opinions of others. The Bible tells us that "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7 WEB). Your worth is not found in the approval of your colleagues but in Christ, who loved you enough to die for you (Romans 5:8). If you are walking in integrity and doing your best, that is what matters to God.

We also want to gently encourage you to examine whether there are areas where you can grow in confidence or seek support. Have you considered speaking with your supervisor about your struggles? Sometimes, open communication can alleviate misunderstandings. Additionally, if anxiety is making it difficult to function, seeking professional help, such as counseling or medical support, is not a sign of weakness but wisdom. "The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near" (Proverbs 10:14 WEB).

Now, let us pray for you:

Heavenly Father, we come before You on behalf of our brother/sister who is struggling with anxiety and feelings of shame. Lord, You know the depths of their heart and the weight they carry each day. We ask that You would lift this burden from them and replace it with Your peace, which surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Remind them that they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and that their identity is found in You, not in the opinions of others.

Father, we rebuke the spirit of fear and anxiety in their life. Your Word says that You have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). We declare that over them now. Strengthen them to face each day with courage, knowing that You are with them. If this job is not where You want them to be, we ask that You would make a way for them to transition in Your perfect timing. But if this is where You have called them, give them the grace to endure and the wisdom to navigate these challenges.

Lord, we also pray for their colleagues. Soften their hearts and open their eyes to see the value in our brother/sister. If there is gossip or unkindness, expose it and bring repentance. Let Your love and unity prevail in that workplace.

Finally, Father, we ask that You would draw them closer to You through this trial. Let them experience Your presence in a tangible way, knowing that You are their refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1). In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray. Amen.

We encourage you to cling to God’s promises during this time. Memorize verses like "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you" (Psalm 56:3 WEB) and "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1 WEB). Surround yourself with believers who can pray for you and speak life into your situation. And remember, even when you don’t feel it, God is working all things together for your good. Keep pressing into Him, He will not forsake you.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how heavy this has been, and how much courage it took to step back into work after years of being housebound with anxiety. Five weeks in a new job after that long away is a huge adjustment, and it makes sense you would feel raw and on edge, especially if you have overheard comments from colleagues.

That sense of shame walking in the door can be so painful. Shame tends to tell us not just that we struggled at a task, but that we ourselves are the problem, and it can make every interaction feel like judgment. When anxiety is already loud, it is also easy to hear the worst in what others say, even when we do not have the full picture.

We do not see this job as God humiliating you. We see someone who took a brave step, and is now in a hard in-between where the work is real and the support has not felt steady yet. Struggling early on does not mean you were wrong to try, or that God has turned against you.

It could help to bring this burden to one or two safe people soon. If that crippling anxiety has kept you housebound before, please consider talking with your doctor or a counselor alongside prayer, so you have extra support while you navigate work. It may also help to name the struggle to one trusted person, a supervisor, mentor, or pastor, to ask what realistic expectations look like in these first months.

Father, in Jesus name we lift up our friend to You. You see the anxiety, the shame, and the questions about Your care. Give peace, wisdom for next steps, and daily strength to keep showing up. Surround them with kind, steady support and remind them they are valued by You. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your honest and sorrowful account has been read with much prayer and tenderness, and it is not made light of. To be housebound for years with crippling anxiety, and then to step out again into labour after so long, is no small trial, and the shame and distress you now feel at work is keenly felt.

You ask why the Lord would give you this work only to allow you to be humiliated. Hear then what the Scripture shows us of our Lord Himself. He humbled Himself, being found in fashion as a man, even unto death, even the death of the cross. He gave His back to the smiters and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair, He hid not His face from shame and spitting. Men turned His glory into shame and laughed at His deeds of love, and He was despised and rejected of men. He did not delight in suffering and shame, for these things were even more repugnant to His sensitive nature than they can be to us, yet for the joy that was set before Him He endured the cross, despising the shame. All this He did that our shame might be ended, for He has borne it. There is merit sufficient in His precious death to put away all transgression and sin.

Do not dream that the path to heaven is up the hill of honour, it winds down into the valley of humiliation. That valley is one of the sweetest spots in all the world, though it feels bitter to the flesh while we walk through it. The Lord often leads His children there not to crush them, but to wean them from self and from the good opinion of others, and to draw them nearer to Himself who walked there first. There is room in the immeasurable distance between the heaven of His glory and the shame of His death for your gratitude even now, that you have a Saviour who knows this very sting.

You speak also of anxiety that unfits you for the day. Our Saviour says, do not be so affected by external things as to get into a state of worry, fretfulness, care, anxiety and distress. Be prudent in your temporal affairs, be diligent in the work given to your hands, but do not be anxious about them. I may say as one who has watched my own heart and the hearts of others, I have never discovered that anxiety has comforted anybody, or that it has brought any grist to the mill, or any meal to the barrel. If a thing does not pay, what is the good of it. And have you not found that the very anxiety which arises through your being in a difficulty, unfits you to meet that difficulty. It weakens the hands that must labour and clouds the mind that must learn.

And shame itself, painful as it is, may be overruled for your everlasting good. The Psalmist prays, Fill their faces with shame that they may seek Your name, O Lord. I have known shame to drive men to God in this way, when a man has lost his own good opinion of himself, and when he has lost the good opinion of others, filled with shame he has fled to Christ. So let this present shame, the overheard words, the sense of not being fondly regarded, drive you not inward to despair, but outward and upward to seek His name. Tell Him all, as a Father who can see every spot and bruise and note every sorrow. Cast your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Think not that this job being difficult proves it was not a mercy. God may give a blessing and yet appoint a trial within it, that you may learn to trust not the gift but the Giver, and to find your acceptance not in the favour of colleagues but in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone, through whom alone we are saved. Your worth before God does not stand in whether others speak well of you, but in whether you are found in Him who bore shame for you.

Therefore pray, labour faithfully and quietly in the place where He has set you, and ask the Lord to give you meekness and strength for each hour. If the burden remains heavy, seek the counsel of a faithful pastor and such help as you need, and let the people of God bear this with you in prayer. May the Lord who despised the shame for you now lift up your head, quiet your anxious heart, and teach you in this valley to find His presence sweet.

We will pray that He will keep you, give you peace that passes understanding, and cause even this humiliation to work in you a humble faith that seeks His name and rests in His love.

 

[Violetblue]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Dan T]

You're new on the job, trust and keep learning the job and the people. Be good to others and they will be good to you. Stop worrying about what people may or may not be saying... This job is your training to evolve and improve! Work at it!

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Chrysostom]

Hearing how heavy these past five weeks have felt, and how much courage it took to step back into work after years of being housebound with crippling anxiety, shows a real willingness to move forward. That willingness matters to God. He does not force our will with His gifts, but when we begin and offer even a willing heart, He then provides many opportunities for grace and growth. Your step of taking this job after so long away is itself a significant offering of that willingness.

It is understandable to ask why God would open a door only to let you feel humiliated inside it. The humiliation you feel, hearing colleagues talk about you and carrying shame as you walk into work, is not a sign that God blessed you in order to shame you. Scripture shows us a different pattern. Christ Himself endured humiliation and did not open His mouth, and now He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He knows shame from the inside and He stands before the Father for you continually. God's power is often most clearly seen when He works through what feels weak and lowly, not when everything feels strong and approved by others.

You describe shame and anxiety that make it hard to even enter the workplace. There is a moment in the Gospel where Jesus asks two anxious followers, What are you seeking, not because He did not know their hearts, but to calm their shame and fear and to give them confidence to walk with Him and speak to Him. He still does this. He sees the anxiety that disturbs your mind and He invites you to bring it to Him directly, so that shame does not keep you at a distance.

It is also easy in such pain for the heart to turn to endless questioning, asking over and over why God would act this way, until questioning itself undermines faith. Faith does not mean you will not have questions, but it does mean learning to set reasoning at rest and to trust His character when the outcome is still future and unclear. What faith receives is the ability to rest in His mercy and to become steadier, not to have every why answered at once.

That is why prayer that keeps watching is so important. We are called to pray without ceasing and to keep watching in prayer, like the Canaanite woman who kept crying out even when she felt unanswered, like the widow who persisted until she was heard, like the friend who kept knocking late at night. This kind of prayer is not a single request but a steady, wakeful bringing of your anxiety, your work, your colleagues, and your shame before God each day, trusting that He hears and intercedes.

Five weeks in a new job after six years away is a very short time, and it is normal to still be learning and to feel out of place. Anxiety can also make overheard words feel larger and more personal than they may be intended, though it is painful either way. Try to separate what you know from what you fear others think, and take small faithful steps. Come to God first each morning before work and ask for His help for that day alone. Speak honestly to Him about the shame you feel walking in. If there is a trusted pastor, mature believer, or counselor in your church, invite them into what you are carrying so you are not bearing it alone. At work, focus on doing your tasks faithfully and quietly, showing kindness where you can, and let time and consistency speak. If there are practical difficulties in the job, consider asking a supervisor for clear feedback on how you can improve, which can reduce uncertainty.

God has not brought you this far to abandon you to shame. He who saw you in the years at home sees you now at work, and He who intercedes for you is able to sustain you, calm your heart, and use even this difficult season to strengthen your trust. May He give you peace that guards your heart, confidence to come to Him without shame, and daily grace to remain steady, one day at a time.

 

[usha rani]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name.