How to Overcome Worry Biblically: 7 Insights
I’ve always been a planner and a worrier. Lately, I’ve been learning how to overcome worry biblically by applying God’s Word to my life.
Today, I’ll also share a list of practical ways to worry less and enjoy life more.
I pray these insights bless you. Also, be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you overcome worry and anxiety.
How to Overcome Worry Biblically
My journey into this way of thinking began as I stood under a pale crescent moon and took a hard look at my life.
I’d been planning and trying to create the perfect outcomes in my life for months. Our family was making plans to add a third child to our family, and I also had big dreams about writing books. I’d become obsessed with the timing regarding books and babies.
As I stood beneath the slender moon, my prayer went something like this: “Lord, you know I’ve been trying to stay in control and bring these two dreams to pass in my own strength. Tonight, I surrender my future to you. Help me to be a good steward of the assignments you place in front of you and leave the outcomes in your trustworthy hands.”
My prayer wasn’t a negation of responsibility or effort.
It was simply a cessation of striving.
I’ve always been drawn to the familiar words of Psalm 46:10, which read, “Cease from striving and know that I am God.”
Some translations read, “Be still and know that I am God.”
For years I assumed that the words, “be still,” meant to stop moving and focus on God.
What I didn’t know was that in the original language, the word for, “be still,” loosely translates as, “let your arms hang loose or slackened.”
A more literal translation is, “Let your hard-working arms hang limp and loose. Lay it down.”
This leads to my first lesson on how to overcome worry biblically: Letting our arms hang loose and letting God be God.
How to Overcome Worry Biblically: 7 Insights
1. Let your arms hang loose and let God be God.
I thought of those words as I stood in the moon’s shadow and considered how I might worry less.
And in the milky glow, I let my arms hang loose. I laid down all of my careful plans and all my striving to bring the plans to pass.
It was terrifying.
As the weeks wore on, God began unfolding a very different plan. It wasn’t the plan I would have orchestrated. It was riskier, less cautious, and less “perfectly timed.”
However, as God’s plans became my reality, the most surprising emotion swept over me: I sensed God’s pleasure in a more tangible way than I’d ever sensed it in my life.
I also felt the most surprising sense of safety.
2. Remember you are protected, held.
In the months after my surrender beneath the moon, I reminded myself that Jesus had me. I knew that no matter how his plan unfolded, his arms were around me.
I knew that if I fell, underneath were the everlasting arms. God was protecting me and holding me, and I had never felt a greater sense of security.
Maybe you’ve been calculating and measuring and trying to figure out how your future will fit together, and it’s making your head spin. Perhaps this planning involves your job or your family or that move across the country.
Your life might feel out of control, but you just can’t see letting your arms hang loose, because letting go feels terrifying. Most likely, your worries consume you at times. You want to worry less and have more joy, but you’re not sure how to make the shift.
Dear friend, remember you are held in the arms of a loving God. He can help you. He also wants to carry your burdens. This leads to our next point.
3. Let Jesus carry your burdens.
Jesus wants to carry your worries and heavy burdens for you. He directly invites us to come to him when we are weary and burdened, and he will give us rest (Matthew 11:28-30).
Will you lift your burdens to him?
Will you ask him to help you grow in trust as you surrender to him?
God often calls us to take the first step of obedience before filling us with the peace that surpasses understanding.
God often calls us to take the first step of obedience before filling us with the peace that surpasses understanding. #GodsPeace #Obedience #Surrender Share on XPeace is waiting for you. Wherever God calls you to release your plans to him, you can trust that you are secure in his embrace through each step of the journey ahead.
4. Remember you are a steward, not an owner.
Our lives are not our own.
We are merely stewards of our bodies, our families, our jobs, and our homes.
We can overcome worry by remembering that our role is to do our best as stewards, but the outcomes are not ours to control.
Many of our worries are about outcomes. We want pleasant results. When we learn to release these outcomes into God’s hands, he exchanges our worries for peace.
5. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).
Every time you feel worried, look to Jesus.
He will guide you and help you.
We can overcome worry by looking to the Lord rather than dwelling on our worries. This leads to our next point.
6. Worship instead of worrying.
How would your life be different if every worry became a prompt, reminding you to worship Jesus?
He is still on his throne.
We cannot worship God while bowing down to our worries. I encourage you to find a worry-defeating worship song. Sing it quietly to yourself when worries creep in. My favorite is “Raise a Hallelujah” by Bethel Music.
7. Give thanks instead of worrying.
Just as we cannot worship and worry at the same time, we cannot give thanks and worry at the same time.
Rather than worrying, thank God for his blessings.
Talk to him.
Again, when worry becomes a nudge to thank God, we defeat the enemy with his own weapon.
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If these insights on how to overcome worry biblically were helpful, I invite you to explore our family devotional books and library of free eBooks below. Most of all, remember that when worry becomes a reminder to turn to Jesus, you will overcome it.
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Attention All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
A Free Devotional to Help You Learn How to Worry Less and Enjoy Life More
Are you tired of being paralyzed by fear, overcome with worry, and plagued by doubt? Let God Set You Free will help you find victory over fear, worry, and doubt by leading you on a 14-day journey into God’s Truth. For a limited time, get this online devotional for free right here with promo code FREE. I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
