How can I deal with my anxiety?

Psalm 23:4Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Psalm 94:19When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.

We can deal with anxiety by remembering that God is with us no matter where we are or what we are facing, even while in “the darkest valley.”

Psalm 34:4I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

Psalm 118:5In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.

Isaiah 41:13“I hold you by your right hand—I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.’”

1 Peter 5:7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Three hundred sixty-five verses of the Bible give us some variant of “do not fear.” God knows we are inclined toward fear and anxiety, and he doesn’t condemn us for it—but he does want to free us from it. The first step toward that freedom is to call out to him. Just as a child cries out for a parent during a thunderstorm, we can call to our heavenly Father during the most violent storms of life. He is our source of comfort and security.

Isaiah 26:3You [the Lord] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Philippians 4:6-9Don’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. 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. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.

Anxiety is a pattern, a mindset, and it even affects the pathways of our brains. Scripture doesn’t merely tell us to “stop worrying,” as if escaping anxiety is a one-and-done choice. It tells us to intentionally change the patterns of our thoughts and put God’s truth into practice. Simply avoiding anxious thoughts isn’t enough. We need to renew our minds by reframing our thinking, filling our thoughts with what is true, honorable, right, pure, and admirable.

1 Peter 5:7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

We can deal with anxiety by praying—talking to God honestly about our worries, concerns, and fears.

Judges 6:13-14“Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

It would be wonderful if God just waved his hand and our anxiety disappeared. For years, Gideon had lived in fear under the oppressive threat of the Midianites, so he asked God why Israel hadn’t been miraculously saved from the Midianite armies. God answered in a way Gideon didn’t expect—he asked Gideon to lead the charge! God didn’t expect Gideon to single-handedly destroy an army, but he did want Gideon to be part of the solution. In the same way, we can take “the strength that we have” and partner with God in confronting our anxieties.

Judges 6:36-40Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water. Then Gideon said to God, “Please don’t be angry with me, but let me make one more request. Let me use the fleece for one more test. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew.” So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the morning, but the ground was covered with dew.

Judges 7:9-11, 15That night the Lord said, “Get up! Go down into the Midianite camp, for I have given you victory over them! But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah. Listen to what the Midianites are saying, and you will be greatly encouraged. Then you will be eager to attack.” . . . When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship before the Lord. Then he returned to the Israelite camp and shouted, “Get up! For the Lord has given you victory over the Midianite hordes!”

Gideon was anxious and afraid, yet he desired to be faithful. God knew this, and worked through Gideon in the midst of that anxiety. When Gideon was uncertain if God was truly calling him to lead Israel, he asked for reassurance through the fleece—and God answered. When Gideon second-guessed God’s confirmation, he asked for more reassurance, and again, God answered. The night of the battle, Gideon was terrified—but God knew this. So God told Gideon to sneak down to the enemy camp to receive a final reassurance. Sneaking down to the enemy camp was a risk that required faith, but what Gideon overheard gave him the confidence to take an even greater step of faith and launch an attack on the Midianites. In whatever situation we are in, God knows our fears and weaknesses, and he does not reject us because of them. If we are willing to partner with him, he will lead us to a better place.

Judges 7:18“As soon as I and those with me blow the rams’ horns, blow your horns, too, all around the entire camp, and shout, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’”

When we face our fears and anxieties, we must be intentional. Even before Gideon announced his presence to a hostile army, he made a commitment to do so with confidence. That confidence was in God—and now, through God, Gideon also had more confidence in himself.

Matthew 28:20“And be sure of this: I [Jesus] am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

John 16:33“I [Jesus] have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.

Confronting anxiety does not mean pretending valid fears don’t exist. Jesus promises that we will face trials and sorrows. However, he also promises that he will walk beside us every step of the way into eternity—that is a confidence and peace nothing can shake!

Matthew 26:39-44“I want your will to be done, not mine.” . . . Jesus left them a second time and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” . . . So he went to pray a third time, saying the same things again.

Luke 22:44He [Jesus] prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

Hebrews 12:1-2Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Anxiety is not a sin. Jesus himself faced anxiety as he awaited betrayal by his closest friends, ridicule by his enemies, and a gruesome torture and death. His anxiety was so deep that the Bible describes him as suffering from hematohidrosis—a rare medical phenomenon where extreme stress causes someone to sweat blood. Yet in this extreme fear, knowing for certain the terrors that lay before him, Jesus turned to his heavenly Father for strength and entrusted himself to God’s will. He was confident of the joy that awaited him in the end—and that gave him the strength to face the unimaginable.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Anxiety may be a lasting “thorn in the flesh,” but that doesn’t mean it can stop God’s work in us or through us. Every hero in the Bible had weaknesses and struggles, and we are no different. Take confidence that God can and will use you for his glory—not just in spite of your struggle with anxiety, but through it.

2 Kings 6:15-17When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

We can deal with anxiety by looking at the world and our problems from God’s perspective.

Psalm 118:6The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

John 15:9-11“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

Jude 1:24-25Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen.

We can deal with anxiety by trusting God and remembering that he is in control and that he loves us.

Matthew 14:28-30Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Peter stepped out in faith and walked on water, but he began to sink when he looked away from Jesus and saw the waves. We can deal with anxiety by keeping our eyes on Jesus instead of obsessing about our problems.