Why Christians are losing the war against anxiety (and how God designed us to fight it)
I’ve spent more than 25 years operating on the human brain, changing lives by making precise, structural interventions in the nervous system. I’ve spent just as long coping with my own brain, which was reshaped by a series of life-altering events.
While deployed as a combat surgeon during the Iraq War, I learned firsthand how trauma reshapes the brain under threat, and I returned home struggling with PTSD. Then, as a father, I learned what it means to grieve the loss of a child in ways no medical training can prepare you for.
Those experiences taught me something uncomfortable but necessary. Many Christians, including myself, are sincere in their faith and faithful in their prayers, yet remain quietly overwhelmed by anxiety, fear, and despair. We wonder why God doesn’t take it away when we ask Him to — and too often, we have no idea what to do to get help.
We tend to oscillate between two extremes, either spiritualizing anxiety as a failure of faith or pathologizing it as entirely outside our responsibility. Neither approach is faithful to Scripture or to what we now know about the brain, and neither leads to lasting healing. But I’ve discovered another approach, one that has changed my brain and life for the better.
The Bible never presents the human mind as neutral ground. Scripture asserts that what we tend to dwell on and rehearse shapes who we become. “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, NKJV). Paul instructs believers to actively direct their thoughts toward what is true, noble, right, pure, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). Jesus himself ties the condition of the inner life to outward reality (Luke 6:45).
These are not vague spiritual suggestions; they are formative commands. And modern neuroscience has begun to uncover just how literal those commands are.
We now know that the brain God designed is not fixed, inherently fragile, or destined for permanent dysfunction after hardship. It is shaped continuously by attention, repetition, and practice. Neural pathways strengthen with use and weaken with neglect. Fear circuits grow when rehearsed. Hope circuits grow when exercised. This designed capacity for change, called neuroplasticity, is not a modern invention. It is a description of how God built us to be transformed (Romans 12:2).
Unfortunately, many believers have been taught, often unintentionally, that effort implies a lack of faith. We pray for peace but avoid practices that cultivate peace. We ask God to renew our minds, but fail to address our thought patterns. This disconnection matters.
Anxiety is not simply a chemical imbalance or a spiritual defect. In many cases, it is the predictable result of a mind that has been trained, through trauma or chronic stress, to expect danger everywhere. That training happened automatically. Undoing it requires effort. This is where the concept of self-brain surgery becomes imperative.
Self-brain surgery is not about self-reliance or replacing God’s action. It is about partnering with the Great Physician. Self-brain surgery is how a Christian can deliberately, faithfully, direct their brain’s God-given capacity for change. Once we learn how attention, intention, and repeated practice shape the nervous system, we then align those practices with truth. This is not self-salvation; it is cooperation.
In surgery, outcomes don’t change because of hope alone. They change because knowledge is applied at the right place, in the right way. Physical healing requires both trust and action. The same is true spiritually.
When believers learn that anxious patterns are not permanent, shame loosens its grip. When we realize our brains are literally changing all the time, hope becomes practical. This does not mean therapy or medication lacks value. For many people, they are necessary and lifesaving. But they are most effective when paired with a theology that affirms human responsibility without denying grace.
I’ve seen what happens when believers reclaim their role as active participants in renewing their minds. They learn to direct their thoughts, interrupt fear-based loops, and focus their attention on what is true — and it changes their brain. Not because God finally showed up, but because they learned to manage their nervous systems according to God’s design for human flourishing.
The most hopeful truth for anxious believers is not that God will someday take responsibility for what we avoid today. It is that He has already given us minds capable of renewal, brains capable of change, and an invitation to participate in both.
Self-brain surgery is not the source of healing, but it is a God-given mechanism to help us live in the abundance God offers to every Christian.
Dr. Lee Warren is a neurosurgeon, award-winning author, Iraq War veteran, and host of The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast. He helps people connect neuroscience, faith, and daily practices for a healthier, happier life. His latest book is The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery.
