A survey conducted in 2020, which involved 1,815 employed British people, discovered that the predominant type of stress was work-related, followed by financial, family, health and relationship stress (Perkbox, 2022). This survey presents to us the reality that stress is not something to be ignored since it impacts the main areas of our daily lives.
As Christians, we have a powerful weapon against stress and that is the Word of God. Today, we will explore several Bible verses about stress to help us overcome it in our daily lives.
But what is stress you may ask? ‘Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain.’ (WHO, 2021). The emphasis here is strain. Worrying about something, being troubled by certain situations in our lives or being anxious or restless, or having fear about something are all related to stress. Hardships that we face in our lives can sometimes be a cause for our stress.
Just like any other condition, stress has its own symptoms. Ignoring them can bring about health problems, especially if we let that strain go on for some time.
‘Prolonged stress undoubtedly makes people ill. It is now known to contribute to heart disease, hypertension and high blood pressure, it affects the immune system, is linked to strokes, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), ulcers, diabetes, muscle and joint pain, miscarriage, allergies, alopecia and even premature tooth loss.’ (Rzysko, 2016)
Therefore beloved, to know how we should handle this strain or tension in our lives let us go to our source, the Bible. Below are 35 Bible verses about stress in book order for your reference. These verses can be downloaded below to meditate on later.
As you are going through these verses, I would recommend that you go through them over and over again, so that they may be settled in your heart.
Please find quick links to the sections of this article for your ease of reference:
Bible Verses about Stress: When anxious, fearful or worried
1. ‘And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14, NKJV).
2. ‘“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”’ (Deuteronomy 31:8, NIV).
3. ‘“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”’ (Joshua 1:9, NASB2020).
4. ‘I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.’ (Psalm 4:8, NKJV).
5. ‘I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.’ (Psalm 16:8, NASB1995).
6. ‘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.’ (Psalm 23:4, NIV).
7. ‘The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.’ (Psalm 28:7, RSV).
8. ‘I sought the Lord and He answered me, And rescued me from all my fears.’ (Psalm 34:4, NASB2020).
9. ‘Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.’ (Psalm 37:5, NASB1995).
10. ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help’ (Psalm 42:5, RSV).
11. ‘“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”’ (Psalm 46:10, ESV).
12. ‘Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.’ (Psalm 55:22, NASB2020).
13. ‘When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul.’ (Psalm 94:19, NASB1995).
14. ‘Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, Yet Your commandments are my delights.’ (Psalm 119: 143), NKJV).
15. ’Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.’ (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV).
16. ‘You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.’ (Isaiah 26:3, NIV).
17. ‘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, NIV).
18. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ (Jeremiah 29:11, NASB1995)
19. ‘“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”’ (Jeremiah 32:27, NASB1995).
20. ‘“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”’ (Lamentations 3: 24, ESV).
21. ‘“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”’ (Matthew 6:33-34, NASB1995).
22. ‘“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).
23. ‘“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?”’ (Luke 12:25-26, ESV).
24. ‘“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”’ (Luke 12:4-7, NKJV).
25. ‘“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”’ (John 14:1, NKJV).
26. ‘“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”’ (John 14:27, NIV).
27. ‘For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.’ (Romans 8:18, NASB1995).
28. ‘And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.’ (Romans 8:28, NASB1995).
29. ‘Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.’ (Romans 12:12, ESV).
30. ‘Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.’ (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NASB1995).
31. ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God’. (Philippians 4:6, NKJV).
32. ‘And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 4:19, NASB2020).
33. ‘Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!’ (2 Thessalonians 3:16, NASB2020).
34. ‘Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ (Hebrews 4:16, RSV)
35. ‘Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never fail you nor forsake you.” Hence we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?”’ (Hebrews 13:5-6, RSV)
A Final Word & BONUS Bible Verse about Stress
‘Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not.”’ (Isaiah 35:4a, NASB2020)
What is stressing you beloved? What is keeping you at night? What is clouding your mind at the moment? Present your worries before the Lord. Meditate on the Bible verses about stress above and be in prayer. The Lord cares for you and He wants you to let go and let God take care of it all.
Trust in the Lord always and keep Him at the centre of all stressful circumstances. May this song remind you and me about how sweet it is to trust in Jesus. Be blessed beloved.
Actions for Today
- If you are struggling with stress, I would encourage you to meditate on the verses above again and again. You can download the Bible verses into a pdf document to refer to later. Also do seek help and talk to someone, especially those in the faith, so that you may be encouraged.
- If you have come out of a stressful situation, what other Bible verses about stress did you refer to? Feel free to leave a comment below as it might help someone reading this post today.
- Finally, if this has been of benefit to you, feel free to share this article with someone that you know might also find valuable. You can share by using the social share buttons at the bottom of this page.
Many thanks and I hope you have a stress-free week ahead.
Recommendations
Stress and Anxiety Christian Books
Below are some recommendations on books relating to stress and anxiety;
1. Anxious for Nothing: God’s Cure for the Cares of Your Soul by John MacArthur
2. Stress: Peace amid pressure (Resources for Changing Lives) by David Powlison
Bibles
Have a look at some recommended Bible versions that you may want to consider having.
References
Perkbox. (2022). The 2020 UK workplace stress survey [Online]. Available at: https://www.perkbox.com/uk/
resources/library/2020-workplace-stress-survey (Accessed: 09 December 2022)
World Health Organization. (2021). Stress [Online]. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress (Accessed: 09 December 2022)
Rzysko, D. (2016). How does stress affect our health? [Online]. Available at: https://www.stress.org.uk/how-does-stress-affect-our-health/ (Accessed: 09 December 2022)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
[Scripture quotations are from] Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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