Anxious thoughts can paralyze us. Here are some Bible verses about anxiety that can soothe and calm our hearts and minds.
Anxiety is the type of fear that can be paralyzing when thoughts of “what if” consume us. It is only when we get the assurance that everything will be okay that we can breathe again.
However, what do we do when we don’t get that assurance? How do we handle the dread that creeps into our hearts and the fear that can paralyze us?
Let’s find out how God’s proof of His peace, love, grace, and mercy can soothe and calm our fearful hearts.
What are Bible Verses about Anxiety?
One of the most challenging emotions to deal with is our anxiety. What does the Bible say about it? What are the familiar Bible verses about anxiety? Let’s discover it together and see what the Word of God tells us about fear and worrying.
What Causes Anxiety?
Different things can cause anxiety. It can be pressure or stress from work or school, relationship conflicts with peers, significant other or family, financial issues, grief, and more. It can also be because of unhealthy lifestyles such as skipping meals, sleep deprivation, dehydration, smoking, caffeine intake, and drinking. It can also be medically diagnosed and can have varying triggers.
It’s comforting to know that God understands our anxiety, and He provides comfort through the scriptures. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast our cares to Him because He cares for us. Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:27 that worrying will not add an hour to our life. And He continues on Matthew 6:28-30 that if He cares so much for the lilies which are mere flowers, how much more will He care for us who are far more valuable to Him?
God doesn’t condemn us when we become anxious. He doesn’t dismiss how and what we feel. He doesn’t ask us to set aside our emotions but rather to surrender them to Him. In turn, God will provide us His peace. He urges us in Philippians 4:6-7 to pray and present our requests to Him instead of being anxious and worried. And He promises to give us His peace that goes beyond human understanding to guard our hearts and minds.
How Many Verses in the Bible Talk About Anxiety?
One of the most echoed commands in the scriptures is “Fear not!”. In his book, Your Best Life In Jesus’ Easy Yoke, Bill Gaultiere indicates that this command is mentioned over 366 times in the Bible. According to him, in the KJV, the word “fear” is mentioned over 500 times. What he means here is that the Bible not only teaches us to “fear not” but also to “fear God.”
Fearing God doesn’t mean being scared of Him but rather fearing Him in reverence. In other words, He commands us not to let anything or anyone have power over us; it should only be Him. It goes back to His command in Exodus 20:3 that we should have no other gods besides Him. Isaiah 44:8 supplements this where God tells us not to tremble nor be afraid because there is no other God nor Rock besides Him.
Famous Bible Verses About Anxiety
We’ve compiled for you some of the most famous Bible verses about anxiety. These encouraging passages from the scripture might help you get through a worry-filled day or season.
Psalm 94:19
God’s consolation can bring us joy when we are overwhelmed with anxiety.
Psalm 23:4
Though we may be walking in the darkest valley of our lives, we don’t have to fear any evil because God is with us. He is our good shepherd.
Matthew 11:28-30
When we are tired, and our hearts are weary, Jesus invites us to give Him our cares and worries and offers us His gift of rest.
Hebrews 13:6
Because God is our helper, we need not fear any man.
Joshua 1:9
God commands us not to give in to fear and be courageous because He is with us.
John 14:27
Jesus offers us His divine peace that is unlike what this world gives. He encourages us not to let troubles weigh in our hearts.
Psalm 55:22
The Lord promises to sustain us when we give Him our worries and cares. He will not let our fears shake us.
Matthew 6:25-27,34
Christ teaches us not to worry about basic things like food and clothing because He will take care of us. He reminds us that we cannot add another hour to our life by worrying.
Psalm 46:10
The Lord commands us to be still when we are afraid. He wants us to remember that He is God and is always in control.
Benefits of Reading Bible Verses About Anxiety
Bible Verses About Anxiety can be Calming
It can be challenging to find peace and calm amid a stressful and pressing situation. We always want to control the problem, so we feel powerless when it gets out of hand and anxiety creeps in. God offers His help in handling our storms because no matter how impossible a situation may seem, He is still in control. The best way for us to remember this is to go back to His Word. When we read Bible verses about anxiety, how God has the power to handle them, and our circumstances, the truth in His Word can calm our fears.
Bible Verses About Anxiety Help us Overcome
Getting over our anxieties and worries is not an easy feat to accomplish. When fear grips us, we need someone more powerful than us to overcome our emotions. God is more than able to help us with that. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we will have trials in this world. But He also encourages us to take heart, for He has overcome the world.
To overcome, we have to put our faith in Jesus and trust that God will get us through our situation – reading Bible verses about anxiety will strengthen our faith in Him as we learn more about how He cares for us.
Bible Verses about Anxiety Soothes an Anxious and Worried Heart
At one point or another, we all have to deal with worry and fear. But we don’t have to be paralyzed or be chained by it. Thankfully, there are Bible verses about anxiety that can soothe our fearful and worried hearts.
The promises of God and His assurance through His Word work their way in us as a healing balm. Through the scripture, He reveals His desire for us to live in His peace and find rest in His presence.
What Does the Bible Say About Anxiety?
God Is In Control
Mark 4:35-41 tells us the story of Jesus when He calmed a storm. He was sleeping on the boat while His disciples were fearful and frantic. Jesus easily commanded the wind, “Quiet! Be still!” and the wind stopped, everything became calm. God calls us to step out in faith whenever we are worried, for He is always in control. The Lord tells us in Psalm 46:10 to be still and remember that He is God.
God Is With You
Daniel 6 tells us how God had been with Daniel when the king’s men threw him into the lion’s den. His enemies plotted against him, and he, the king, had to be punished because he stood up for his faith. The Lord did not leave him during this ordeal. God shut the mouth of the lions leaving Daniel unscathed. The same thing happened to his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in Daniel 3 when they were thrown into the fiery furnace because of their faith. God was also with them inside, and the three of them were able to get out unharmed.
Just as He was with Daniel and His friends, God promises us in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us nor walk away from us.
God’s Peace
Philippians 4:6-7 is a perfect reminder that God’s peace is unlike the fleeting kind that this world offers. It tells us that His peace is something that surpasses human logic and reason. Here is why He encourages us not to worry but instead pray to Him with a thankful heart. If you think about it, humanly speaking, it’s hard to be grateful when you’re hurting and fearful. But God promises in His Word that when we do this as we present our cares to Him, we will experience His divine peace even if we are still in the midst of the storm.
Surrendering to God
God cares a big deal about us. He doesn’t want us to constantly fear and worry, especially about things we can’t control. Here is why God invites us to surrender it to Him, to obey His commands, and just to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing for us.
1 Peter 5:7 is an invitation from Him to give Him all our fears because He treasures us. He even promises us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He knows His plans for us, and He desires to provide us with hope and a future. It is the beauty of surrendering to God. He releases us from the weight that bears down our hearts and gives us His promise of hope.
How to Overcome Fear and Anxiety Through God’s Word
Lift Your Anxiety to God
Our anxiety can play tricks in our minds. We can imagine situations that haven’t happened yet because of the fear of what might happen. Sometimes it’s hard to control our thoughts. Thankfully, we can go back to Bible verses about anxiety, such as Philippians 4:6-7 and 1 Peter 5:7, which reminds us how God wants us to lift our fears and worries to Him.
Meditating on God’s Word
Studies say that meditation can help ease anxiety. Scripture tells us that blessed are those who meditate on the Word of God (Psalm 1:1-3). They are similar to a tree that is planted beside a river. They remain strong, bearing fruit, and remaining prosperous.
Trusting God’s Promises
God’s character gives us an assurance that we can trust His Word. It says in Numbers 23:19 that God is not man and cannot lie. It also says in Isaiah 55:8-9 that His ways and thoughts are unlike ours; they are much higher. He declares in Isaiah 55:11 that His words will not go back to Him empty. God is a promise keeper, which is why we can trust that whatever worries us, He is more than able to handle them.
Turn your Anxieties into Prayers
Taking us back to the passage Philippians 4:6-7, God commands us to pray instead of agonizing over our problems. He wants us to step out in faith and entrust everything to Him. He wants us to be free from the fear that consumes us. And the only way we can attain that freedom is by praying and surrendering to His power and grace.
In Summary
Anxiety is an emotion that, when left unbridled, can easily consume and overwhelm us. But God, rich in love and mercy, doesn’t want to live in fear and worry. All He’s commanding us to do is to come to him in abandon and surrender. The Lord wants to assure us that His grace is more than enough to handle our needs, and God reveals His power in our limitations and weaknesses. It is why He wants us to rush to Him whenever we are in fear so He can give us His peace that will guard and soothe our weary hearts.
Reading Bible Verses about anxiety helps us overcome those situations. If you want to worry less, Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers. Pray more, and read the Bible more! Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray!
