When Worry Consumes You: Bible Verses about Not Worrying

What’s going to happen next? That question can make us react in all sorts of ways. When a lot can go wrong around you, it seems like the natural thing to do is to worry. This is when Bible verses about not worrying can be helpful.

Worry can become a fixture in our lives, something that marks our waking and sleeping.  Much of what we worry about never comes to pass. When something worrisome becomes reality, we often find that we can handle the difficulty better than we expected, or the difficulty teaches us a lesson worth learning. The vast majority of what we worry over is not much more than a fearful mind punishing us with embellishments and misperceptions.

Bible Verses About not Worrying for When Worry Consumes You

We worry about what other people think about us. We may worry about our future, the safety and health of our loved ones, our finances and jobs, the economy, the future of our country, and so much else. More worries include whether we’ll get that job, ace that interview, or make the right impression on that first date. We wonder and worry whether God will rescue us from a predicament.

Worry can help us prepare in ways we likely wouldn’t have done otherwise. But worry takes away probably more than it gives. When you worry about what is to come, it can prevent you from savoring the present in all its fullness. When worrying becomes excessive, it can lead to feelings of anxiety, and it even cause you to become ill in body and spirit.

Timothy Keller provides two pieces of wisdom when he says, “When we worry we are saying, ‘I know the way my life is supposed to go, and God’s not getting it right.’” When we worry, we are not believing that God will get it right, and so we feel we need to take it upon ourselves to make sure it all works out.

But this is a sinful attitude from which we need to repent, and we need to learn to trust God more. There are many bible verses about not worrying and there are several reasons for this as shown below.

Bible Verses About not Worrying Because Worry Can Make You Unfruitful

Worry occupies our hearts and mind. Where we could spend our time thinking about how best to love others and enjoy the life God has given us, we use that precious time to worry about what might not come to pass.

Jesus warns us in the passages below in Matthew that worrying doesn’t have many tangible positive results. In fact, worry can make us unfruitful by taking our attention off God’s Word and the good he has in store for us. We are better off using our energies to simply trust the Lord each day for our needs.

The following bible verses about not worrying can remind you that worry makes you unfruitful, but trusting God builds your faith.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. – Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. – Matthew 13:22 (NIV)

God Has Your Back in Your Worries

We need to understand who God is, and further, who God is for his people. Even if the worst-case scenario should come to pass, God still has us in his hands. We worry because often we do not trust God and his intentions for us. We want to take our case in our own hands because somewhere within us we believe we’ll do a better job of it. These verses can help you trust that God has your back in your worries.

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.’ – Isaiah 35:4 (ESV)

But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. – Luke 12:28-30 (ESV)

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. – Isaiah 41:10 (ESV)

Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. – Mark 13:11 (NIV)

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. – Psalm 23 (NIV)

What to Do Instead of Worrying

Worry can take root in our hearts. To uproot worry, we have to cultivate other habits that replace worry. These habits will help us lean into what will give us peace and rest. Whether it’s prayer, walking in the peace that Jesus gives, or choosing to offer thanks instead of indulging worry, we can draw upon other habits to help us combat incessant worry.

These verses can help you uproot worry from your heart and mind.

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 (NIV)

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. – Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)

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)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. – Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” – Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)

Getting Help for Worry

Sometimes, worry can have such a grip on you that you become highly anxious, and that anxiety makes day-to-day life untenable. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, and every year they affect some 40 million adults in the United aged 18 and older, or around 18.1% of the population.

These anxiety disorders are highly treatable, so if worry and anxiety are controlling your life, don’t hesitate to approach a therapist or other mental health professional to help you overcome them to have the peace you need.