A few years ago, a friend of mine interviewed me about dealing with anxiety in my life. Anxiety has loomed over me like a specter since I was a kid; it’s never been debilitating for me, but it has robbed me of joy and led to a lot of time wasted worrying over the years.
My Christian faith has been the biggest tool I have in defeating anxiety. In the interview, I said, “Worship and prayer are my biggest tools for defeating anxiety. My faith is strong and comes naturally, so praying, engaging in worship, and reading God’s Word are powerful tools.”
“According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, more than 40 million people struggle with anxiety,” writes Lauren Hunter at Logos’ Word by Word blog. She adds, “Even the most devout Christian can find it incredibly hard to cope with anxiety.”
Of course, if anxiety prevents you from functioning daily or having joy in your life, please seek professional help. A pastor, counselor, or doctor can help you overcome your anxiety.
But God’s Word has so much to say about anxiety, and we can find comfort and counsel from what the Bible has to tell us. Hunter shares some scriptures about anxiety in the blog post, and they can be immensely helpful to people who are dealing with anxiety.
One of my favorite verses about anxiety is Isaiah 35:4. The prophet is addressing the exiled Israelites, but it’s a reminder that God fights the battles for His people — even the things that make them anxious: “Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.’”
That’s a message Moses shared with the Israelites as they were escaping slavery in Egypt. In Exodus 14:14, he said, “The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
The Psalms have plenty to say about anxiety as well. King David took his anxiety to the Lord in Psalm 55:2-3:
Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
Asaph admitted that his anxiety rose when he saw how the wicked sometimes prosper. In Psalm 73:1-5, he wrote:
Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
In Psalm 94:19, the psalmist wrote that God is the one who takes anxiety away, “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”
Jesus had encouraging and evocative words to help His followers — including us — shake our worries and anxieties and trust in Him:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:31-34 (ESV)
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
John 14:1 (ESV)
Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (ESV)
The apostles had more encouraging words in their epistles:
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:18-39 (ESV)
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:8-18 (ESV)
As we deal with days, weeks, months, or years of anxiety, we should seek help when we need to. But don’t forget about the power of prayer and God’s Word. To close, I’ll bring it back to more encouragement from the prophet Isaiah, who wrote in Isaiah 26:3-4: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”
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