21 Verses on Anxiety

21 Verses on Anxiety

The tightness in my chest came first. It slowly inched its way from the center of my core and made its way up to my breathing. In and out. I could count the breaths because that’s all I heard. My husband’s breathing next to me disappeared as the tears began to pool in the corner of my eyes. 

Under the covers, I could feel my legs but couldn’t move them. The physical darkness of my bedroom suffocated me and I lost count of the air going in and out. I didn’t know if I was breathing. I closed my eyes, my soul consumed by fear. 

My husband grabbed my hand and squeezed it twice, which was our secret code to tell me he loved me. I wanted to squeeze his hand back, but drew it away. I rolled over, still unable to sob, but the tears silently trickled down my face and wet my pillow. I lay in the dark, afraid and feeling so alone. I decided it was safe here. Pulling away from him was an easy thing to do. I didn’t want him to be burned by the fire inside of me. 

It was safe in this place of darkness. When I thought about opening up and telling my thoughts, I knew the fear would overwhelm me. And I didn’t want to face it. After all, I could survive wrapped around myself and not let anyone in, right? How do I relax when fear engulfed my very soul? 

Relax, I whispered to myself. Courage was something I wished for my heart, but how could I grow and cultivate courage, even in the midst of fear? Through the power of God’s word I’m learning the daily process of cultivating courage: in finding God faithful. 

The way I do this is to read scripture everyday. In fact, God talks a lot about anxiety and worry in the Bible. So I encourage you to download this free reading plan I created that includes 21 verses on anxiety.

Not until my head hit the pillow and the lights were turned out did I feel the tight prickly feeling in my chest. No more work for the day meant I couldn’t block out my thoughts. I didn’t want to think. My fear blazed brighter than all of the truth I knew in my head. All I wanted was to sleep, but the fear of the unknown kept my mind awake. I walked through scenario after scenario until it was 2am, again. 

The fire was advancing. Consuming. I was pushing away my husband, my kids, and even God in my desperation to stay alive. I was convinced I could keep the flames from engulfing me completely and suffocating me. Every night fear smoldered and burned. 

Around eight o’clock one evening I sat on the couch after the kids went to bed and my hand started to shake. It was a small tremor, and I thought maybe my sugar level was low. But I had just eaten some frozen yogurt. I felt it then. The tightness in my chest and the tears, they just appeared. The darkness engulfed me like flames. I sat on the couch and sobbed. Embarrassed, I relayed to my husband the fears I had been feeling. The unknown, and where God was leading our family and the future. The unknowns were the root of all my fears. But God is bigger than our unknowns. Friend. Start reading the Bible today! God is bigger and God can calm all of our fears.  Get a free reading plan here.