How to Cope with Worry and Anxiety as a Christian
Dealing with anxiety can be tricky. When anxiety starts taking over our lives, we don’t always know where to begin. Figuring out how to cope with anxious or fearful thoughts or feelings may simply involve gaining insight. If you are a practicing Christian, you may have noticed just how many times anxiety is addressed in the Bible. The Bible is full of rich wisdom to hold onto, that can help us address anxiety and pursue peace from a spiritual angle. Please feel encouraged to read along with some of these passages from Scripture, and take as much time as you need to pause and think about what the author is trying to communicate about anxiety, worry, and peace. While some people may believe that their religious beliefs conflict with the idea of seeking mental health counseling, my hope is to show that your spiritual beliefs and counseling can go hand-in-hand.
Bible Verses to Help You Cope with Anxiety & Worry
Matthew 6:34
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
It is often easy to look ahead to the future and begin to feel overwhelmed. What will tomorrow look like? What if something goes wrong? What is my life going to look like? What if I can’t get to the place I want to be? What if something happens to the people I love? The list goes on. This verse reminds us to focus on the present, and dwell in today just as it is. A great way to practice living in the present is mindfulness. With mindfulness, the idea is to pause and take note (either mental or literal notes on paper) of what is presently happening in us and around us. If you find yourself constantly thinking about tomorrow, try taking 10 minutes each day to focus on the present. You might just notice your worry becoming smaller and smaller, even if just for those 10 minutes.
Matthew 6:26-27
“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?”
Anxiety often involves worry, and anxiety sometimes looks like fear of failure, or fear of lack. If you’ve ever worried about not having enough (time, money, energy, space, friends, support, resources, courage, etc.) you are not alone. It is easy to find ourselves afraid of coming up short, but this verse reminds us to look up- to literally look up and pay attention to how birds behave. After the dead of winter, we see birds returning to familiar climates, welcoming the season of Spring with no stored-up stashes of worms to eat and nothing but expectation and trust that they will receive all they need. Embodying this sort of present-focused mindset allows us to flourish fully in our abilities and gifts as each day comes, and trusting that God will do His job and take care of the rest.
Psalm 23:1-4
“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.”
As mentioned earlier, anxiety, fear, and worry are very prevalent experiences that many individuals in the Bible dealt with. Anxiety has transcended time and has remained prevalent since the very beginning. In this passage, the Psalmist faces darkness that each of us can be familiar with. Yet the theme of this passage is not fear, but peace. Walking with God as our shepherd is a journey that helps us lean into His peace and comfort during times when we need it most.
Bottom Line: It’s Normal to Have Anxious Thoughts
If you have ever been part of a Christian community that has condemned you for struggling with anxiety, I’d like to apologize. Anxiety (along with many issues of mental health) is complicated, and therefore not always a “quick fix”. It takes a lot of mental and spiritual effort to cope with anxiety, but it is a worthy fight. The Church has not always done its best to serve those with mental health issues, and still has a long way to go on it’s journey of understanding its role in serving those struggling with mental health. If this rings true in your story, please know progress is possible and that Christian counselors are available to help.
Spending time in the Bible reminds us that it is normal to have anxious, worried, or fearful thoughts. Anxiety would not be addressed so much in the Bible if it was uncommon, but releasing control over our circumstances is the key to coping with anxiety on a spiritual level. When we do this, we allow God to handle the things that are outside of our control, and we are free to focus on embodying His grace and peace, which are free gifts that provide us comfort when we are afraid.
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Interested in Christian Counseling for Worry and Anxiety?
If you’re a Marylander who knows that counseling is the direction you need to take, the therapists at LifeSpring Counseling Services are here to help. We offer online counseling services for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. We also offer Brainspotting as a specialized service, and Brainspotting can be done online, too!
Here’s how you can get started! Christian counseling for worry and anxiety aren’t the only services offered at our Maryland office
The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students and international students.
Written By: Mickayla Waldhauser, LGPC
PC: Nita, RODNAE Prod, Disha Sheta, Anete Lusina, & Karolina Grabowka on Pexels
Date of Download: 3/15/2021
