7 Calming Verses for When Life Feels Overwhelming

We all face overwhelming moments in life. Today, we’ll explore 7 calming verses for when life feels overwhelming. I invite you to soak in these truths today as God’s peace washes over your soul.

7 Calming Verses for When Life Feels Overwhelming

1. A Verse for Overwhelming Moments

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 focal point of Jesus. 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. A Verse for Overcoming the Fear of 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 a reality. Friend, even if it does, trust God to carry you through. Trust in him to use it for your good and his glory. Relinquish your desire for control into his hands and trust his purposes in your life.

3. A Verse 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 looked to God and declared that he is good all the time?

Instead of worshiping your fear by dwelling on it, what if you lifted your heart in worship to the King?

4. A Verse for the Fear of Harm

“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 God offers us security. We find this security as we lean into the truth of his Word.

Exchange dread for ease by claiming God’s promises, reading your Bible, and standing on his Word. He will not let you down.

5. A Verse for When You Need to Be Lifted Above Wordly Fears

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. His ways are higher than your ways. His thoughts are higher than your thoughts. He is trustworthy.

6. A Verse 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.

Do you need God to carry you today?

He is with you. He is already carrying you through the raging waters and the flames.

7. A Verse for When Your Trials Feel Consuming

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.

Let’s talk about how to apply these 7 calming Bible verses for when life feels overwhelming to our everyday situations. I invite you to join me in the everyday overwhelm of my life as a mother.

Apply these 7 calming Bible verses for when life feels overwhelming to your life:

Walking through the door with armloads of grocery bags, the condition of the house was unnerving. “When life overwhelms you, breathe,” I whispered to myself.

Muddy footprints and some sticky, unidentifiable grime covered the hallway floor.

Half-eaten plates of food from a dinner that was apparently not a hit covered the table. Spilled applesauce hardened on the floor, and children’s illustrations were scattered intermittently throughout the mess.

A large bottle of root beer had been spilled on the couch. Toys covered every surface of every room.

“Can you get me a snack?” someone asked within three seconds of my entry into the house.

Awesome.

“Breathe, Stacey,” I whispered again. Breathe.

Overwhelmed and unsure of where to even begin to tackle the mess in front of me, I tried to remain focused on the task at hand and continued bringing the groceries inside.

When Life Overwhelms You

Ninety minutes later, after putting away the groceries, cleaning up from dinner, scrubbing the dried applesauce, mopping the floors, and delegating toy clean-up to the kids, I was weary.

(Join me right here if you’re a tired mom who needs encouragement.)

A certain child had requested a snack approximately every ten minutes, and I had calmly directed him to find a snack independently.

I’d just scrubbed the couch in an effort to clean the root beer stain when I heard the words, “Mom, when are you gonna get my snack?”

What NOT to Do When Life Overwhelms You

“Never!” I yelled. “I’m never going to get your snack because I have been working nonstop! I haven’t even eaten dinner! I asked you to get your own snack!”

The room suddenly fell silent.

My heart raced.

I stormed to the basement and slunk onto the cement of the laundry room floor with a bag of trail mix. Dinner. It beat going back upstairs. I was done.

Done.

Sweet friend, I sure hope you can’t relate.

I hope you don’t know what it is to be done.

But life has a way of stretching us until we snap, and most of us have been done at some point.

You might not be set off by a messy house, but you have your own triggers.

Pull the trigger once, and you might be able to ground yourself and keep your cool. Pull it twice, and you might practice your breathing techniques, center yourself, and remain calmly present to the moment.

But pull the trigger one too many times, and you lose the ability to cope. You can no longer regulate. You explode or shut down or go somewhere else in your head that takes you away and keeps you safe. Or you run to the basement with a bag of trail mix.

You want to do better.

Yet it keeps happening, and you don’t know how to stop.

A Simple Shift for When Life Overwhelms You

What’s the secret? How do we live without reacting to stress when our triggers push us into a place where can no longer cope?

How do we live without reacting to stress when our triggers push us into the place where can no longer cope? #Stress #OvercomingStress #CopingwithStress Share on X

Dr. Dan Siegel’s book MindSight is helping me understand my inner dynamics in my unglued moments.

Dr. Siegel describes a “window of tolerance.”¹The window of tolerance is the zone of arousal where we are able to function healthily. It’s kind of like the middle ground, a stable place where we’re not thrown off course.

When we move outside the window of tolerance, we become overwhelmed, anxious, numb, or frozen. We are unable to cope. Kind of like a woman locked in her laundry room with a bag of trail mix.

How to Tell You’re Leaving Your Window of Tolerance

I felt my pulse quicken and noticed tension in my chest as soon as I walked through the door with the groceries. I could have used these indicators as a sign to go back outside, get grounded, ask God for help, and come up with a reasonable plan for tackling the work inside my house.

Instead, I pushed through the warning signs. I kept pushing until my nervous system couldn’t take one more trigger, and then I snapped. I lost control, fled the scene, and numbed myself with the food.

We all have triggered moments. Your triggers are different than mine, but you have them. I probably don’t need to name them for you to identify them. They’re the scenarios that push you out of your window of tolerance every time they arise.

Before life overwhelms you, learn the physical cues indicating your body is leaving your window of tolerance. Stop yourself, pray, get grounded, or come up with a different plan instead of unleashing.

Cry out to God.

He promises not to tempt us beyond what we can bear. His promise applies to more than just binge-eating and other flashy sins of the flesh. It’s a promise to help you when your emotions are stretched.

I encourage you to learn to notice when you’re inching toward your emotional threshold. Learn your window of tolerance, and step back before you explode or shut down.

In these moments, it might help to return to our list of 7 calming verses for when life feels overwhelming.
Breathe deeply. Pause. Step away from the stress. God wants to help you return to peace.

Let’s now create space to reflect on these verses and consider the window of tolerance.

A Moment to Reflect on These 7 Calming Verses for When Life Feels Overwhelming:

I invite you to go somewhere quiet and spend some time with God reflecting on your past day. Ask him to show you any moments when you felt overwhelmed or stressed. How did you handle your emotions? Did you cope in a way that enabled you to stay within your window of tolerance, or did you react in a negative way?

What does God want to show you about your window of tolerance?

Now, imagine yourself in an overwhelmed moment you might face in the upcoming day. Imagine taking the following steps: Stop to get grounded. Breathe deeply (inhale for three seconds and exhale for five seconds several times). Ask God for help. What does he want to show you?

How would you return to the situation differently if you took these steps?

What verse from today’s list can you memorize and speak in life’s overwhelming moments?

An Online Devotional to Help You Step out of the Overwhelming Pace:

I have a gift for you today: My free online devotional Unrushed: Slow Your Pace and Embrace the Fully-Present Life. This is a powerful journey into a life that is more present and more fully lived. You will learn to slow down, step out of stress, and embrace your moments. Click here, and I’ll send this free online devotional to your email inbox!

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