The Anchor of Our Souls: Scripture for Anxiety and Worry

Scripture for anxiety and worry is exactly what you need when life threatens to consume you. We’ve got a FREE printable to encourage you!

You know that feeling when your hands are shaky and your palms are just a bit sweaty? You’ve rehearsed it in your mind 100 times, and there’s NOTHING to worry about, yet you can’t help but feel just a little anxious.

As ridiculous as we feel looking back, anxiety and worry feel so urgent in the moment. The impending helplessness of not being in control can so easily consume us. But once the moment has passed, we look back and wonder how something so silly could have caused us to lose sleep, lash out in stress, or not be able to eat.

Is there a way to keep this from happening? I’ll be honest and say that it’s impossible for fallen humans to NEVER worry about anything. The world is full of unknowns that threaten our hearts. But you and I both know that God has something better for us. That means we CAN get a handle on these feelings and keep them from controlling us.

Scripture for Anxiety or Worry: 3 Things to Remember

God Is Sure

Uncertainty is a thief. Not KNOWING rocks most of us to the core and robs us of the stability we need. When my 6-year-old son was diagnosed with a brain tumor, uncertainty became my reality. I remember a friend once asking, “How do you wake up each day knowing that your son might die?” It was a fair question, but I had to turn it back to her. How do YOU wake up each day knowing that your son might die? You see, the truth is we all face the uncertainty of life. None of us knows what might happen next. Sure, no one wants to live through something like a cancer diagnosis, but if you do, you can still bank on the SAME God who is fully in control.

You can’t be sure of anything in this life, but you can be SURE about God. He is in control even when we are not. Whether it’s a bad day or a bad diagnosis, this fact remains the same.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15–17 ESV)

God Is Steadfast

Most things in this world can’t be trusted. People fail. Things wear out. Faithfulness has become something that surprises us. It’s unexpected. To be honest, it’s easy to have trust issues in today’s culture, which makes it difficult to have relationships free from worry and anxiety. We keep people at a safe distance and draw “healthy boundaries” in an attempt to protect ourselves.

But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.
(2 Thessalonians 3:3)

But again, God has another way. He is steadfast. In a world where nothing seems trustworthy, He can be trusted. And this isn’t a Sunday school answer. You can count on God every time. His plan will be perfect!

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a
shield for all those who take refuge in him. (Psalm 18:30)

God Is Your Anchor

I absolutely love being out on a boat. There’s just something about salt water splashing in your face that has become my happy place over the years. But you won’t find stability on the ocean. Those waves will rock you into places you don’t want to go. That’s why boats have anchors. Without the anchor, a boat will drift into trouble.

This is true for us too. Without God as our anchor, we are sure to drift into trouble. No one wants trouble, but trouble in and of itself is not the real problem. An anchored boat still hits the waves. The difference is an anchored boat doesn’t get lost at sea or crashed into the rocks. That’s what we want for our lives. We can expect some waves, but with God as our anchor, we will still be secure.

More Scripture for Anxiety and Worry

• Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
• Psalm 9:10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
• Psalm 18:1–2 I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
• Psalm 27:3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
• Psalm 103:2–5 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
• John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
• 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
• 2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.
• Hebrews 6:19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.
• Colossians 2:6–7 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Maybe that list of verses surprises you. Shouldn’t I have mentioned 1 Peter 5:7 and Matthew 6:25–33? While these two Scripture passages do address worry and anxiety specifically, the bulleted list of Scriptures above serves more as a foundation to change our thinking!

For example, before anxiety and worry even start, I know from Isaiah 26:3 that I need to keep my mind focused on God and His Word if I want to avoid anxious thinking. I have to intentionally turn my mind to the things of God when I start to sink into the chaos that is clamoring for attention in my brain. But if I can direct my focus toward God, I can rejoice in His protection (Psalm 18:1–2) and how I’ve seen Him provide before (Psalm 103:2–5)!

This is why it’s so important to know God’s Word and be memorizing it. Scripture actually changes how we think and how we handle the things that make us worried and anxious!

When we put things into perspective, Christians realize that we have hope that steadies and anchors our souls—Jesus Christ! This hope found in His Word holds us steady when the things around us are uncertain and threaten to make us anxious and fearful. And because we love you and want to help you remember this truth, we have created a FREE art print you can frame to display somewhere or use as your phone wallpaper to see it throughout the day.