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Stress and anxiety can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to trust God, but your mind won’t slow down. If you’ve been told to “just have more faith” but still feel stuck in anxious thoughts, there’s a deeper reason why. I break down stress and anxiety to help you get a clearer picture of both. I believe that when we can properly name what we are going through, we can then move through it and find healing.
What is Stress?
How does stress affect our bodies? Is worry a root of stress? What about anxiety? Most importantly, what does the Bible say about stress and anxiety?
According to mentalhealth.org, stress is “the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental or emotional pressure.”
According to Don Colbert, M.D, “stress is mental or physical tension, strain or pressure.”
However, stress researchers and authors like Doc Childre and Howard Martin say, “stress is the body and mind’s response to any pressure that disrupts their normal balance. It occurs when our perceptions of events don’t meet our expectations, and we don’t manage our reaction to the disappointment.”
Therefore, stress, at its most basic level, is our body’s response to a demand placed on us.
What is Anxiety?
What is confusing is that everyone seems to say they have anxiety or are anxious and stressed, but I think it’s important we understand what anxiety is (especially in relation to stress). Once we understand something and can properly name it, then we can find healthy techniques and practices to heal from it or simply manage it better.
Here’s a simple way to understand anxiety:
- Something feels threatening – This could be real (like a car speeding toward you) or just perceived (like a stressful thought or fear of failure).
- Your brain sounds the alarm – Specifically, a part called the amygdala jumps into action and tells your body, “We might be in danger!”
- Your body prepares to respond – Your heart beats faster, your breathing quickens, and your muscles tense. This is called the fight, flight, or freeze response. It’s designed to help you survive.
- You feel anxious – This is what we experience as racing thoughts, a tight chest, upset stomach, restlessness, or even panic. It’s your body saying, “Stay alert!”
The problem is your alarm system can’t always tell the difference between real danger and something that just feels uncomfortable or scary, so it can get stuck in “on” mode, especially if your body has been under stress for a long time.
But the good news? You can teach your body and brain that you’re safe again with tools like breathing, grounding, healthy routines, and prayer. Anxiety doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you; it means your body needs help to feel safe. So much of anxiety often has to do with control.
Therefore, anxiety at its most basic level is a perceived threat of what might happen, not what is happening.
Understanding Stress and Anxiety Biblically
Our perception shapes how we all deal with stress. Stress comes in many different forms. Yet, our perception of what is in front of us shapes our stress level.
Now that you know the definition of stress and anxiety, here are the two side by side at their most basic definition:
Stress = pressure from something happening
Anxiety = fear about what might happen
Stress is not specifically mentioned in the Bible. However, worry, troubles, and anxiety are. These are merely symptoms of stress, and stress is a symptom of our perception. Think of a symptom as the fruit of whatever has roots in your heart. I have a whole section in my book Face Off with Your Feelings on how to uproot worry and lies to create new fruit.
I consider anxiety a secondary emotion. Another word for that might be more of a reaction than a feeling or a primary emotion. Pain can come from two different directions: a violation of love, which tells us who we are, and a violation of trust, which makes us feel unsafe. So we might feel helpless and powerless, or we might feel like we’re unable to measure up to expectations, that we’re inadequate, or that we’re not good enough for the task we’re being asked to do.
This is what I see most often with worry: our brain starts trying to help us out by controlling more than we’re able to, overthinking it, and worrying about it. And usually, that’s a sign that we’ve stepped beyond what we’re empowered to do, beyond what we have agency over and choices in, and we’re starting to worry about it because we’re in territory that we don’t have any control over.
I think a huge component when we feel unsafe or when we feel helpless or powerless is being able to say, “Okay, I may not be able to control the entirety of this situation, I may not even be able to control very much of it, but I am a human being who is empowered to make choices.” I can narrate this situation for myself. And so, be aware of the choices we have, and of what we would love to control but can’t.
This is why we cannot throw scriptures at ourselves about stress and worry, hoping that it all goes away. The event, situation, or trauma happened to all of you emotionally, spiritually, and physically. God’s transformation works from the inside out, not the outside in. He works from the spiritual to the natural.
When emotions like worry or fear arise, we have a chemical response in the body and the brain. They will also occur at an organ and cellular level. We see this happen when something triggers us and we react without even thinking, only to ask later, “What just happened?”
We feel it physically with fatigue, tight shoulders, and headaches. These things are common, but should not be our norm. Learning what the Bible says about stress and anxiety is our foundation to build upon as we loosen our relationship with control.
In God’s kindness, He recognizes we will experience stress and anxiety, but doesn’t leave us there. He offers Himself as the way through. I know there are many layers to this. For example, knowing where you are in your relationship with God. If you don’t feel safe with God, it will be hard to trust God and, in turn, hard to let go of control.
It’s hard to pray our way out of something our bodies also physically feel. Our minds and bodies need to learn to communicate with our spirit.
A Biblical Example of Stress and Anxiety
A Biblical example is Moses. Moses alone led millions out of slavery and into the wilderness. Can you imagine the weight Moses must have felt leading so many by himself? Then we read in Exodus 18:14, “So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”
Moses met with people morning and night, trying to help them and guide them by himself. Can you imagine the exhaustion? Thinking about the mantle he was carrying to steward God’s people well. Yet he was carrying the mantle alone until his father-in-law gave him this advice. Exodus 18:17-18 says, “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.”
Jethro encouraged Moses to select honorable, wise, and godly men who could be taught the basic interpretation of God’s laws and instructions.
Moses was doing a good thing, but he wasn’t meant to do it alone.
How easy is it for us to be living stressful lives because we haven’t asked for the help we need? Have we communicated with those around us what we need in a kind and loving way?
This leads us to the question. How many good things do we do but exhaust ourselves with them? We can see examples like this throughout scripture and forget to put ourselves back in time and to those moments. How did this person feel? What was happening to them and possibly in them?
Let’s look to our savior. We can see the stress Jesus was facing as he sweated droplets of blood. From Got Questions, “Hematidrosis is a rare, but very real, medical condition that causes one’s sweat to contain blood. The sweat glands are surrounded by tiny blood vessels that can constrict and then dilate to the point of rupture, causing blood to effuse into the sweat glands. The cause of hematidrosis is extreme anguish. In the other gospel accounts, we see the level of Jesus’ anguish: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38; cf. Mark 14:34).”
It’s why we can go confidently to Him because He knows the depths of our pain and struggles, and yet was without sin.
3 Ways to Manage Stress and Anxiety
First, we must know the power and authority we have in Christ and with Christ. Too often, my 1:1 clients believe their thoughts are more powerful than anything they can control. However, that’s not true. We are not powerless against our thoughts. No matter how strong they feel.
Secondly, we must learn how to apply scripture practically and what the Bible says about stress and anxiety. We need to understand how to apply whatever it is we are learning. I know I personally didn’t understand how to renew my mind or take my thoughts captive. What kind of language did I need to learn to speak to myself differently? The hardest part for me was recognizing that it’s much more about repetition and endurance than about steps.
- The first way you can manage stress and anxiety is attentional control. Attentional control is our ability to concentrate. It’s our ability to choose what we pay attention to. Sometimes our brains have a hard time determining what is safe in the present moment. We may not be experiencing a physical threat. However, when we consider a past situation, we may feel unsafe. Therefore, we need to start using language that speaks to the present rather than spiraling into the past or “what if” scenarios. Putting this into practice can be simply asking yourself questions or having someone else ask “safety” questions for you. Attentional control is asking yourself questions in the situation to produce safety. (Again, recognizing this is not dealing with situations where there are perceived physical threats in the present. It allows us to be present to the Holy Spirit and consciously choose Him.)
- The second way you can manage stress and anxiety is to use your senses and practice awareness to keep you present. One way to do this is to name five things you see around you, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This doubles as a gratitude-and-praise exercise, with the Lord thanking him for his blessings and all that you can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste. (We always want to be turning to the Father because apart from him, we can do nothing. We are made in his image.) Another awareness tip is to say everything you are aware of. For example, I am aware I had mud on my shoes. I am aware I am hungry. I am aware I am sad. This helps bring you back to the present and find relief. I love how the Lord made our bodies. We do not live carnally, meaning through our senses, but we do get to acknowledge the goodness of God with them. (And we get to choose to live how the Bible says with stress and anxiety.)
- The third way you can manage stress and anxiety is by learning to contain your anxiety and the emotions that come with it in a healthy way. Some would call this containment. For example, closing your journal after being honest with God about your feelings is a symbolic act of containment. Once you close the journal, you leave distressing emotions, memories, sensations, and thoughts behind. You know they are safe there. This isn’t the same as ignoring your feelings. Little by little, you can take them out of containment and process them with the Lord and trusted people.
One bonus exercise to try for managing stress and anxiety:
A great journal exercise I will have clients use to overcome worry is to draw two large circles on a page and literally just brainstorm all the choices you have. What are all the things I can put my energy into and actually make a difference with? And then, in the other circle, let’s brainstorm all the things we would really love to be able to control and can’t. And if you’re a person of faith, I think it’s a great prayer exercise to literally hand that other circle over, knowing that we can trust God with all the things that we are not empowered over.
When we find ourselves worrying about it, it’s a sign that we’re trying to control something we should be trusting to God. And then, in this other circle, we can think about, “Okay, here are my choices.” Yes, God’s involved in that, too. I can depend on Him through the power of the Holy Spirit to make right and good choices. But that’s where my energy is best spent.
Scripture helps us to heal with the Father. His Word gives us clear instructions on how to handle stress. However, we need to learn how to practice living out His promises in our day-to-day lives.
Biblical Verses About Stress
1 Chronicles 16:11
“Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!”
Deuteronomy 31:8
“And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
Psalm 34:4-5
“I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.”
Isaiah 26:3
“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”
2 Timothy 1:7
“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Bible Verses About Anxiety
1 John 4:18
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Psalm 94:19
“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Isaiah 40:31
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
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