Christianity and Anxiety: 5 Things the Bible Says about Anxiety

When I was at my wit’s end, suffering from major anxiety in college, my main tactic to address my anxiety and stress was to try to control everything. I made calendars and filled up planners trying to control every single outcome. And sure, those things helped me stay on track for assignment deadlines and helped keep my grades high, but those strategies did nothing to alleviate my anxiety. I was desperate for a better way to address my anxiety because what I was trying wasn’t enough, and wasn’t working!

By the end of this post, you’ll feel less anxious because you’ll have learned another (and the best) angle to address anxiety- faith, which will allow you to deepen your faith and lessen your anxiety. So, what does the bible say about anxiety? Let’s dive in!

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Addressing Anxiety using Typical Methods

Usually, anxiety is addressed with medication or therapy, or ignored.

Medication- according to WebMD, common meds prescribed for anxiety are antidepressants or benzodiazepines like Xanax. And while they can be effective in the short term, you can build a tolerance for them and need more to get the same benefit. They also come with some pretty hefty side effects.

Therapy- According to Mayo Clinic, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the most common form of talk therapy used to address anxiety. CBT works to address symptoms by challenging negative thought patterns. It’s meant to be short-term, and can be super beneficial!

Ignoring it- sooo many will just ignore their anxiety and not take any course of treatment. When you do nothing about anxiety, your symptoms are left unchecked, and will likely pop up again and again when life gets tough. (Which we obviously do NOT want!)

I don’t recommend ignoring anxiety (disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Please always seek answers from a medical professional.) And while medications and therapy can be effective, these traditional methods fall short in some ways. Medication only works for as long as you take it. Therapy only works if you apply what you get from the sessions to your life.

What if I told you that addressing your anxiety from another perspective could be JUST what you need? What if I said I knew a way to address anxiety that didn’t have side effects, that didn’t cost what therapy costs, and that has zero downfalls!

I’m betting you’re curious, but maybe you have an idea where I’m going by the title of this post.

Ways Faith can Reduce Anxiety

(First, if you’re new to faith and Christainity, start here.) 

I want to start by saying that in NO way am I minimizing anxiety. It’s something I really struggle with! Know that this next section is solely me trying to share what the bible says about anxiety. I am not saying that you can just brush off anxiety, stop being anxious, just turn it off… or anything like that. Because I know the struggle!

I don’t like when people say to me, “There’s no need to be anxious” when I’m in the middle of being super anxious. That never helps. So again, I’m not minimizing anxiety, just simply sharing what has helped me from the bible.

| Related Reading: 26 Things to Thank God for When You’re Life Isn’t Ideal

1. Faith Changes Your Perspective

When you have faith, you see the bigger picture. When you have a relationship with Christ, your life is less about the minute details of your stress and anxiety. The end-all-be-all in life isn’t about your current circumstances. That’s because you have a greater purpose– one of loving God and loving others (read all about that here).

So faith can help your anxiety by broadening your perspective. Faith helps you realize that sure, you could be worried or anxious about where your life is headed, or who you’ll marry, or how you’ll make ends meet financially, but those things matter less now because you were made for a bigger purpose! You were put here to honor God and spread His love and His message. You weren’t put here to worry about anything else, because God’s in control of it all! So give those anxieties to Him! Surrender them! (Here’s how to surrender.)

I find so much comfort in these verses:
Matthew 6:27 says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Here’s a really powerful Bible study on anxiety I did that I loved!

2. Faith Takes the Pressure Off

Good news friend, you’re not in control. Is that scary to you? Or does that feel like a relief?! It may be jarring to hear that, but I’ll say it again- you are NOT in control!

If you’re anything like me, a recovering control freak, a little anal, very type A… you are probably super uncomfortable with not being in control of your life. But… in reality, you never really have been! Sure you have free will and can make your own decisions, but ultimately, God knows exactly what’s going to happen in your life. He’s the one with the grand plan, the one calling the shots!

And while that may seem super scary to you, hear what the Bible has to say about anxiety:

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

That should relieve some of your anxiety, knowing that you don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to try to control everything so it turns out well. God’s got it! He knows the plans He has for you. There’s absolutely no pressure put on you to have it all figured out. That’s for God.

To dig deeper into this concept and into your faith, try this faith journal with a prayer list, check-ins, weekly and monthly reflections, and more!

3. Faith Gives You Hope to See the Light at the End of the Tunnel

Anxiety has a way of making you feel trapped in your current circumstances, stuck under the weight of your worries, with tunnel vision that only focuses on the negative.

Having faith does the exact opposite! What does the bible say about anxiety? Well…

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

Faith provides peace and hope so you can look forward, beyond your anxiety.

Check out this bible study about how you are chosen by God.

4. Prayer is Medicine

Talking about your anxiety to God and surrendering it is healthy and good for the soul!

“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.” Romans 8:26

This verse is sooo comforting to me, because when I’m super anxious, I can’t put my feelings into words that make sense. I have a hard time knowing what I’m even feeling and turning my abstract, frenzied thoughts into real sentences. The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will help you out when that happens, and it will be exactly what you need!

There’s something about surrendering and letting go in prayer that feels incredible! The idea that you no longer have to stress about trying to control things is so freeing!

To strengthen your prayer life, read here. 

Next time you’re anxious, lift those worries up in prayer!

And try this prayer journal, too!

5. You Can Find Support and Community

Having faith usually leads to you becoming involved in a church, bible studies, devotional groups, or ministries. When you get involved in this way, you begin to build a really powerful, supportive community around you that you can rely on when you feel anxious.

Ask Christian friends to pray for you. Join that grief group or the young adult bible study to surround yourself with people to lift you up when you need it.

Embrace the support and community that a church family can provide!

Next Steps: Using Faith to Address Anxiety

As you grow in your faith, it will be more natural for you to give your troubles to God, and in turn, you’ll feel less anxious. I want to clarify though, that having faith doesn’t mean you’ll never experience things that can cause anxiety. Having faith means you’ll still experience trying times, but you’ll know what to do with your worry (give it up and not hold onto it).

So now what? Now that you know what the bible says about anxiety and how faith can help with your anxiety, how do you move forward?

I’m glad you asked!

Simple answer: pray, make it out to church, read your bible, worship God.

Take steps toward embodying the type of woman in Proverbs 31.

What you read in this blog post is just information. If you don’t apply it, it’s useless.

Prayer

Start actually implementing it. As with anything you want to start doing and incorporate into your life, it’s helpful to add it to something you already do daily (more on establishing good routines here). I pray every morning on my way to work. I’ve attached my prayer time to something else that I do daily so that when I get in my car, my mind is primed to go into a time of prayer.

Attending Church

Getting filled weekly with sermons will absolutely help you continue to surrender yourself and your worries to God. This will also help you grow that community and support we just mentioned.

Reading the Bible

Again, make time for this by setting aside a chunk of time daily that you can commit to. For me, as I sip my coffee in the morning, I open up my bible app. It’s a time where it’s quiet in my house and I can be focused. The more you’re in the Word, the easier it will be to recognize God’s got this, and you don’t need to worry, sit in your anxiety, or try to control everything.

If you don’t have a bible, try this one!

Worship

Any way you know how! Sing, write, serve! Do what really resonates with you! I find there are a few songs I can sing along to when I’m anxious that really help put things in perspective for me and remind me who’s in control.

One of those songs is “My Lighthouse” by Rend Collective. 

Let’s Bring it Home

What does the bible say about anxiety? Hopefully you’re more clear on it now.

It says that God’s got it! God’s in control, to cast your worries on Him, to not fill your mind with worries about tomorrow, to pray about it all, to trust him!

If you’ve tried other ways to address your anxiety, I pray that you are open to the power of faith!

And I pray that you were touched by the ways faith can help you with your anxiety. Wherever you’re at with your faith, whether you’re just being introduced, or you’ve just strayed away recently, you’re never too far.. God is waiting for you, and the rest and peace from your worries that’s found in Him is unmatched!