7 Empowering Bible Verses for Anxiety and Stress
We sit by the lake and cast stones like we’re casting cares. I try to conjure up a few long-ago memorized Bible verses for anxiety because I need an anchor on this clear blue afternoon.
I remember a day when I sat by this lake four short months ago. It’s funny how four months can feel exactly like a lifetime.
This azure water lapping against an emerald shoreline was clothed in unrecognizable white, and there was no definitive border between the place where the land ended and the water began.
Men sat bundled in blue and brown shanties across the white expanse. They entertained themselves by jigging child-sized fishing poles and hoping for sunken bobbers. Coleman lanterns warmed chilled hands, and their voices echoed across the ivory.
I sat on this same beach and looked out across the silver lake.
I took a hard look at the fears that were gnawing at my soul.
It was a season of worrying about health issues, facing anxiety about the future, and stressing about what might be and what might never be.
It wasn’t the first time I went to the lake for the purpose of casting cares.
There were past seasons of worries about work, about whether I was doing my job well enough, about whether I was pleasing everyone, about teens who made me want to pull my hair out, and about most anything imaginable.
Powerful Bible Verses for Anxiety
As I reflect upon it all in the warmth of a May afternoon, I see that there are two choices: Fill my mind with worries and cares or fill my mind with truth.
I can dig deep and cling to God’s powerful Bible verses for anxiety, or I can stay in the shallows and let my worries consume me.
The choice is mine.
Most of us tend to worry about whatever problem is most pressing at any given moment.
If a wobbly kitchen table is my greatest problem, I’ll focus on finding a solution. If a threatening diagnosis looms on the horizon, I’ll obsess over what I can do to regain control of a situation that feels entirely out of my grasp.
Regardless of the magnitude of the worry, the only way to cast them out in a way that lasts is to replace them with what is true.
I open my blue Bible and make note of seven Bible verses for anxiety as a sailboat passes over the same span of water where the men once sat in their blue huts with the lanterns glowing. I write these words:
1. A Bible Verse for When You Need to Center Your Mind:
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3
This powerful verse reminds us that perfect peace is possible. Perfect peace is available when we return our wandering thoughts to the Lord and trust him.
Are your thoughts racing all over the place? Take those thoughts captive.
Return them to the Centering Point of Christ. He is with you. You can trust him. Let every worry prompt you to look to him all over again, and you will use anxiety and worry for the glory of God.
2. For When You Fear Bad News:
He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is upheld, he will not fear, until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries. Psalm 112:7-8
These words remind us that trust in the Lord casts out the fear of bad news. Trust steadies the heart. When you fear the worst, ask the Lord to help you renew your trust in him, and claim these Bible verses about anxiety.
Your worst-case scenario could become reality. Friend, even if it does, trust in God to carry you through. Trust in him to use it for your good and his glory. Relinquish your worried desire for control into his hands, and trust his purposes in your life.
3. Bible Verses for When You Need Strength:
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalm 103:1-5
These words remind us that God forgives, heals, redeems, and renews us. Instead of trembling in fear, what might happen if you blessed his name? Instead of worshiping your fear by dwelling on it, what if you lifted your heart in worship to the King?
4. For When Fear of Disaster Gnaws at You:
“But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Proverbs 1:33
This verse reminds us that when we fear the future, the Lord offers security as we lean into the truth of his Word. Exchange dread for ease by listening to God’s promises for security.
5. Scripture for When You Need to Be Lifted Up:
From the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2
This powerful verse reminds us there is safety in the Rock that is higher than us. Cry to God in your anxious moments, and he will draw near and offer shelter in the fortress of his presence.
6. For When You Need Reassured That You Are Not Alone:
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:1-2
This powerful passage reminds us that whether we are passing through deep waters, crossing raging rivers, or walking through life’s fires, we do not walk alone.
7. The Bible Verse for When Your Trials Feel Overwhelming:
Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials . . . 2 Peter 2:9
This verse reminds us that no trial is too big for God. He is capable of reaching out to deliver you at exactly the right time.
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The sun is sinking behind the rolling hills to the west when I finally close my Bible and stand to leave. I walk to the car slowly, and I pray that the Lord will continue to lead me to the rock that is higher than I. I thank him for the gift of these Bible verses for anxiety and stress, and something inside me seems to lift, to lighten.
This invitation waits for you as well. If you are feeling anxious or fearful, cling to the words of Truth and allow these words to cast out fear and center your focus on the only One who has promised to stay with you no matter what.
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