Anxiety can make it feel as though the weight of the world is on your shoulders. It’s the culprit of sleepless nights and restless days. Far too easily, it becomes a plague that creeps in to infect nearly every portion of the body, weeding its way to the heart, only to become a drain on the very soul. Many a person has been crushed under the burden of worries, particularly when it feels as though there’s nowhere to turn, no friend to offer comfort, and no hero to provide deliverance from the agony of what pulls the crushed spirit downward into a seemingly bottomless pit of utter darkness.

In America today, people on both sides of the political spectrum are notably anxious about the upcoming presidential election. According to a report from NPR, Americans are suffering from “election stress disorder,” which takes the shape of overwhelming anxiety. Fifty-three percent, in fact, “are having such high anxiety over the election that they are avoiding even talking about it.” A similar survey, released by the residential mental health treatment system AMFM, found that 22% of 2,000 surveyed Americans feel the current election cycle is harming their mental health. The experts are saying this year’s election has been a “significant source of stress and anxiety.”

AMFM also found many of those in Gen Z have chosen to put a hold on getting married, having children, attending higher education, or taking on a move “because they are freaked out about what’s going on politically.” The Wall Street Journal reports that “America is having a panic attack over the election,” and that many are turning to weed gummies and deep breathing exercises to tame their fears. Some mainstream media outlets have taken on the role of comfort counselor, listing their top “tips” for how to “calm down.” Here’s what Fox News recommends:

1. Practice grounding techniques.
2. Build a self-care routine.
3. Challenge unhelpful thoughts.
4. Limit caffeine and alcohol.
5. Set healthy boundaries.
6. Try progressive muscle relaxation.

Now, as human beings, I’m not trying to insinuate that any of these practices are completely futile. However, what I do want to suggest is this: What if there’s more to handling this rise of anxiety than “grounding techniques” and crafting “self-care routines”? What if the stress and anxiety experienced by the people in this country reflect a deeper problem that requires a much deeper solution than setting boundaries and trying “progressive muscle relaxation”? Is putting one’s life on hold due to political insecurity really the answer?

As Christians, our hope cannot be in politics. But there is also a crucial need for the church to engage the public square to fight for faith, family, and freedom. Believers, specifically, have a special duty to promote biblical values in all sectors of life — government included. We have no excuse for keeping God’s truth to ourselves when some of the clearest calls in Scripture are for us to “go … and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19), proclaiming “the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15), and declaring God’s glory and “His marvelous works among all the peoples” (Psalm 96:3). We’re called to be unashamed of the gospel, because we know “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

What if, dear Christian, the particularly anxious society around us provided the perfect opportunity to put these commands and truths into practice?

We don’t put our hope in politics because we know that politics will always fail. We don’t put our hope in politics because they’re found in a constantly changing atmosphere. In a time where people can’t define what a woman is, children are subject to explicit material and dubious ideologies, crime is rampant, and no one knows who to trust, of course anxiety is high. And really, that’s politics for you. But there is a hope that transcends politics. There is an anchor in the stormy seas of worldly chaos, and this hope is unchanging. This hope is Jesus Christ.

Maybe you’re a Christian, and you’re anxious about this upcoming election. No one can fault you. But ultimately, believers — of all people — should be brimming with hope! We should be the ones who maybe even seem a little crazy for being grounded in times of instability. People should be able to look at us and think, “Something is different about them.” That is because we, as believers, have something the world at large doesn’t have: salvation. This is our hope in life and death. God’s grace is the wind beneath our sails of faith, yet we “have learned to kiss the waves that throw [us] up against the Rock of Ages.”

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul wrote in Romans 8. “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” Shall politics separate us from God? “No,” the apostle asserted, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (v. 35-39). Those in Christ ought to understand and live by this truth more than anyone else in the world. Frankly, that’s because believers in Christ are the only ones who truly understand it at all.

And yet, because we have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is our job to go forth and share this truth with the world. It is our job to proclaim the peace of God in a chaotic world. It is our job to offer hope when all hope seems lost. Our role as Christians in a fallen world is to preach the gospel, the Savior, to people in desperate need of saving.

I remember, in times when I felt anxious or stressed about life, finding great comfort in this truth: If I’m still here, God’s not done using me for His perfect and glorious purposes. There’s a reason for your existence, and it’s held in the hands that bled for you. Yes, just like everyone else, Christians are still affected by the broken world around us. We still suffer, grieve, and experience all sorts of pain and vexations. But unlike everyone else, we know that neither sin, nor death, nor fear, nor any other earthly woe has the final say. Only Jesus Christ, who died, was buried, and rose from the grave, has the final say. For those in Him, He has said, “It is finished.” Victory is ours.

Our God is the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him, “who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). I can’t think of any reason why this would not apply to the upcoming presidential election. More than that, I don’t see how this would not apply to anything that could ever possibly cause any anxiety. So, as America wrestles with severe anxiety and despair as they look toward the future of this nation or this world, I beg of you, be the salt and light in their lives. Please, dear brother or sister in Christ, do not let the opportunity to offer the hope of the gospel pass you by!

If you’re a Christian, and you find yourself to be among those who are anxious, will you redirect your gaze back to Christ (Philippians 4:4-9)? Please do not forget that He is a providential God. This election, and all of what comes to pass, are in His control. As my pastor Jamie Dunlop so eloquently preached: “Though God is hidden, He is active. … He is active for our good in ways that are far grander than anything” we could understand in the present moment. If the world’s a stage, then “God’s been directing the play. The play is about Him. And one day we will see it for all of its glorious wonder.”

“We trust in the providence of God,” Dunlop concluded. “Tomorrow we see. Today we trust.”