Bible Verses On Worrying
Matthew
25: Jesus Teaches About Worry: That is why I tell you NOT to worry about
everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to
wear. (This is Jesus talking, remember, so if He is telling you to stop,
then STOP IT! Stop worrying!)
Isn’t life more than food and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in
barns, for YOUR heavenly Father feeds them.
And aren’t YOU far more valuable to Him than they are? (Yes, you are!) Can
all your worries ADD a single moment to your life? (No, they can’t add to your life, but they can
take away—don’t let them!)
And why
worry about your clothing? Look at the
lilies of the field and how they grow.
They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was
not dressed as beautifully as they are.
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and
thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for YOU. Why do you have so little faith?
So
don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? ( What
if?, what if?, what if?) These things dominate the things of
unbelievers, but your heavenly Father ALREADY knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God ABOVE all else, and
live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
So don’t
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Remember, God’s already been to tomorrow,
and He’s got your back, Live in the moment and stop worrying about tomorrow!)
Luke
21:34 begins: “Watch out! Don’t let your
hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Jesus is talking about His return here, but
when I look at this verse, it reminds me that worrying is very bad for us. Jesus compares the ways in which our hearts
can be corroded and made dull, so much so that we don’t have time for Him or
for others. He mentions worry right up
there with carousing and drunkenness.
What does drunkenness and carousing do to us? The NIH lists the following effects of alcohol:
·
affects the way the brain looks and works, changing mood and
behavior
·
heart disease
·
arrhythmias
·
stroke
·
high blood pressure
·
liver problems
·
pancreatic problems,
·
cancer
·
immune problems.
Okay, now let’s compare what stress, anxiety and worry do to our
bodies:
·
Difficulty swallowing
·
Dizziness
·
Dry mouth
·
Fast heartbeat
·
Fatigue
·
Headaches
·
Inability to concentrate
·
Irritability
·
Muscle aches
·
Muscle tension
·
Nausea
·
Nervous energy
·
Rapid breathing
·
Shortness of breath
·
Sweating
·
Trembling and twitching
·
Suppression of the immune system
·
Digestive disorders
·
Muscle tension
·
Short-term memory loss
·
Premature coronary artery disease
·
Heart attack
·
Can eventually lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts.
As you can see, there are a lot of similarities between what
drunkenness and worry can do to us, and the effects are not positive! Jesus knew
what He was talking about, and we need to pay attention to what He tells
us. Not trusting Him is detrimental to our
health! We must trust Him and have faith
that He is taking care of us at all times if we are asking Him to do so. Trusting is the opposite of worry. The more you get to know Him, the more you
understand this, but to get to know Him, you must spend time with Him. Read your Bible and get to know Him better
and better every day!
Ben Franklin is known to have said, “Early to bed and early to
rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
I say, “Growing closer to Jesus makes a man healthy, wealthy and
wise!” When we know Him, we worry less
and so are healthier, our wealth is not in money but in how much He loves us
and how much we love Him, and we can turn to God’s word at any time and find
all the wisdom we need right there! Stop
worrying; just stop it!
1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for He
cares about you. Webster’s dictionary
defines “give” as: 1. To hand to
someone. 2. To place in someone’s care. 3. To
grant (permission, opportunity, etc.) to someone. 4. To
transmit or communicate. So when you are
worried about something or someone, use imagery to imagine yourself reaching up
your hands and handing God your worry.
You are granting Him permission to take it from you and giving Him the
opportunity to use your trust in His care to handle your problems better than
you ever could. Imagine a meeting with
God whereby you transmit all your worries over to Him and walk away at the end
of the meeting feeling much lighter, knowing your worries are in Great Hands! God is a good, kind, caring, and loving
God. He made you, and He cares for you.
The reason people of God tell others to read the Bible is not
because it is doing something good for God.
God does not need our help; we need His help! If you are suffering and someone tells you
about a solution to your suffering, will you ignore the solution? It would be foolish and detrimental to do so. I am telling you now—there is a solution for
what is bothering you, and that solution is the Word of God. Use the concordance in your Bible to find out
what the Bible says about your particular problem. Read all you can about it, and learn how best
to deal with your problem. If you choose
to ignore God’s word, you are choosing to ignore help.
Now, since I am writing about worry, fear and anxiety, I have gone
to the Bible to see what I can find in it that addresses these particular
problems. I found so many verses
regarding these problems that I chose only the following ones to use here, but
again, there are many, many other verses in the Bible that deal with these
particular problems, so I encourage you to find them for yourself and study and
memorize them, so the solution is right at hand when you need it! The Bible verses are highlighted or made
bold. My interpretation is in
parentheses.
Proverbs 12:25 says, “Worry
weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
(Think about this: worry
does make us feel weighted down—it’s that little niggling feeling you walk
around with all day, the feeling that something in your life is not right. However, when someone says something helpful,
it lets us know they care, that they understand or are at least trying to
understand, and that we are not alone, it helps so much. Be an encourager—it will help you feel
better, too!)
Matthew 7:9-11: Jesus says, “Parents, if your children ask
you for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a
snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good
gifts to you children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts
to those who ask Him.”
(God is not some big, old, mean Being sitting up in Heaven just
waiting to disappoint us, laugh at us, and ignore what we need. Hardly!
Actually, He is opposite—He is kind and loving and cares for us. He loves to give us good things, and He has
promised to help us when we turn to Him and ask! So what are you waiting for—ask! And remember, His ways are higher than our
ways, so if things don’t turn out according to OUR plans, they will turn out
better in the end, because God knows what is best for each and every one of
us. He has a plan for our good!)
Philippians 4:6: Don’t worry about ANYTHING; instead, pray
about EVERYTHING. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has
done. Then you will experience God’s
peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as
you LIVE IN Christ Jesus.
(Those are all-encompassing words we find in the Bible: ANYTHING, EVERYTHING! Wow!
God cares about the big things and the little things in our lives, which
is awesome! Another important word in
the above verse is “thank.” No one likes
it when we do something for someone and get no thanks—God included! When He helps you, thank Him. And remember to always LIVE IN Christ
Jesus! He died FOR US so we could LIVE
IN Him.)
Philippians 4:8-9: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one
final thing. FIX your thoughts on what
is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and
worthy of praise…then the God of peace will be with you.”
(If we are anxious, we must change our thinking process. God’s Word says we need to switch over to
thinking about things that are positive, nurturing and good. Be careful what you are thinking about, and
to do this you must first be aware of what you are thinking about. This pertains to T.V. shows, music, people
you hang around with, etc. You may need
to change several things about your life, but we must FIX our minds on positive
and lovely things or we will suffer anxiety rather than have peace.)
John 14:27: Jesus tells the disciples, “I am leaving you
with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And
the peace I give is a peace that the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
(Who doesn’t love a gift? Peace
of mind AND heart is a gift that Jesus left us; he said so Himself. Is there any greater gift that someone could
give us? I don’t think so. The world, He said, cannot give us this
peace; it is found only in Him.)
Matthew 5:13-15 Jesus says,
“You are the salt of the earth. But what
good is salt if it has lost its flavor?
Can you make it salty again? It
will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on
a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one
lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.
Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone
in the house.
(If we are to be salt and light, can we do a good job of it when
we are stressed and worried and anxious ourselves? No! So
we need to deal with ourselves before we can be salt and light for others. And Jesus told believers, “YOU are the salt
and light.” That’s US—believers in Jesus
Christ! He tells us not to lose our
flavoring; in order to do this, we need to live in Christ, be thinking about
Him, and be studying about Him every single day. Make time for Jesus! We also have an obligation to tell others
about Jesus’ love and His sacrifice for us.
We should be so filled with Jesus that telling others about Him does not
feel like an obligation; we should be overflowing with Him that we can’t resist
spreading our joy to others!)
The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom
shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be
afraid? Psalm 27:1
(When you fear
people, you must be lacking in faith in God, so be aware of this. Our God is our stronghold (our well-fortified
place). “If God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31. If you are outside on a dark night, you need
a light to see where you are going; the same applies to our lives. We cannot see the future, but God has already
been to the future, so He knows where and how to lead you. Trust Him to not let you fall, and trust Him
to get you where you need to go.
Salvation means we have been saved from the power and penalty of
sin. Jesus died to rescue us from
Satan’s power, and Jesus died to pay our price for our sins.)
Psalm 118:6:
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
(Our fellow men
and women can try to do a lot to us—gossip about us, lie about us, avoid us,
etc., but if we resist retaliating and, instead, turn to God for His
always-available help, we can keep our peace.
Joyce Meyer has a saying, “Don’t let others steal your peace,” and she’s
right. Go to God with your concerns and
ask for His Way to deal best with people.
But be prepared for answers you may not like or with which you do not
agree. God will not bless those who
become bitter, angry and wish ill-will on others. You are not aware of others’ situations, so
do not be quick to judge, just go to God when you need a listening ear! Listen for His direction! He will act on your behalf if you ask and
allow Him, but in the meantime, pray for your enemies and do not seek revenge! This is not the world’s way; it is God’s way!)
Deut 31:6:
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them,
for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake
you."
(Strong and
courageous is opposite of weak and fearful.
God goes with us everywhere; there is no where we are that He cannot
be. People disappoint and desert us, but
God promises NEVER to do so!)
When I am afraid, I will trust in
you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be
afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
Psalm 56:3-4
(People feel
fear--it is human, but the Bible tells us what to do when we feel fear: trust God!)
Isaiah 41:10:
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your
God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous
right hand.
(Three pretty
terrific promises from God: strengthen,
help, uphold YOU!)
Isaiah 41:13:
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says
to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
(God is holding
your hand right now!)
Romans 8:15:
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear,
but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry,
""Abba," Father."
(We have God’s
Spirit in us if we have received salvation through Jesus. We must remember this—we have God’s Spirit IN
us!)
1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But
perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one
who fears is not made perfect in love.
(How to drive
out fear? Perfect love! Know that God loves you perfectly, and strive
yourself to love everyone. If you are
caught up in your own fears and concerns, get out and do something good for
someone who is also suffering and probably a lot worse than you!)
Psalm 56:3:
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
(Fear happens,
but we have a WAY to eliminate it—Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life!)
Psalm 34:4
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
(Seek: To try to find, discover or obtain
(Webster’s). We must seek the Lord, and
we do that by reading His Word, listening for His voice, and being with fellow
believers who are close to the Lord. He
always answers, and He is able to deliver your from your fears if you practice
trusting Him.)
1Peter 5:6-7
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.
(I read one
time that if we think we are already humble, then we are not. If we are still relying on our own strength,
power, knowledge and resources, then we are prideful. We can do all things through Christ, Who gave
us life! God made us, God wakes us up
everyday, God gives us the air we breathe, God enables us to think, etc. Everything we have comes from Him, and we
need to rely on Him for everything. God
has the proper time in mind for everything we do, so relax and give Him that
control. Now let’s talk about
casting. In angling, casting is the act of
throwing bait or a lure using a fishing line out over the water using a flexible fishing rod. The usual technique is for the angler to quickly flick the rod from behind
toward the water (Wikipedia). Think of
this when you think about casting your anxieties on God—ALL of your
anxieties. Picture yourself standing
before God, telling God your concerns and then asking Him to take control and
work it all out at the right time and for your good and for the good of others. Cast your concerns now, quickly, as soon as
you start to worry! Don’t let worry get
the upper hand, but hand your problems to God—right away! Now walk through your day ready to be
flexible and relaxed, not rigid and uptight, and trust that God is already at
work on your behalf. Don’t pray and then
start to worry! That tells God that you
don’t really trust Him. He cares for you
more than you can know, so He wants the best for you.)
Joshua 1:9:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be
frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is
with you wherever you go.”
(When I go
somewhere by myself, somewhere I wish I had a good friend by my side, I remind
myself that I always have a Good Friend by my side. Then, I picture Jesus walking beside me, and
I know I am truly not alone! Jesus
actually commanded us to be strong and courageous! A commander is one who is in authority over
us! Jesus is our Authority, He loves us,
and He does not want us walking through life timid and afraid. Remember, He is with you WHEREVER you go!)
Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him
glad.
(Feel weighted
down with worry? Go get your Bible and
hear from God. He wants your trust. Go to church, and let the pastor’s sermon
speak to you. Talk with a Christian friend
or counselor-another great way to hear from God!)
Luke 10:19
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
(Jesus is telling us that He has given us
AUTHORITY over serpents, scorpions and over all power of the enemy, and NOTHING
shall hurt us! It does not get any
clearer than that! We don’t realize how
much power we have in Christ Jesus! If
we did, I think many of us would live differently, more free, more strong, more
courageous, and less worried. Jesus
said, “BEHOLD!” That means He wants us
to look at and see the power we have in Him.)
Isaiah 43:1:
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.
(Jesus knows
our name! How awesome is that, that the
Creator of the Universe knows us each as individuals! We are redeemed, which means our debt as
sinners has been paid already! We are
saved, and we are free! Jesus paid it
all by choosing to die in our place! God
now calls us ‘His.’ How awesome!!!)
Psalm 91:1-16:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow
of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For
he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly
pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will
find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the
terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.
(To dwell means
to live or stay as a resident (Webster’s).
If you live with someone, you are usually in daily communication with
them, you get to know them well. The
same should be said of our relationship with God. We should be in daily communication with Him
but also be sure to be quiet in His presence and listening for what He wants to
say to us. What does the above verse say
that God does for us? He is our refuge,
fortress, deliverer, faithful, shield, and He has us covered! Now, what’s to fear! God’s got you covered!!!!)
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall
confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage
of the servants of the Lord and their
vindication from me, declares the Lord.”
(We all have “people
problems” from time to time. God tells
us how to handle them. Go to Him, and He
will help you. Jesus tells us to pray
for our enemies, and the above verse tells us that God will be involved in the
dispute and help it get resolved. But
you must ask Him to help and do not hate, but pray for the one with whom you
are in dispute. It seems natural to want
to retaliate or prove ourselves right, but God wants us to take the high road
and resolve the conflict with His help and in His way.)
Lam 3:57:
You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’
(God does not
want us living fearful lives. He wants
us to rely on Him, because in relying on Him, we stay close to Him. He loves each and every one of us. He created us to commune with Him. He is near you always, so there is never a
need to be afraid.)
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