How to Cast Your Cares on the Lord

Anxiety is a beast. One minute we can be doing fine and the next something may happen that makes us feel like the walls are closing in.

It could be anything from an emergency to the constant drip of worry trying to swipe our entire day right out from under us.

Have you ever overheard an argument or experienced a stressful situation that made your heart pump faster? What about the times when someone authoritative or helpful arrived on the scene to bring peace to the situation?

A chaotic atmosphere can experience change when something stronger takes charge. We know that God is bigger than anxiety, but sometimes the problems and feelings that surface along with it can seem impossible to overcome.

The struggle is real, but there is hope when we read words that remind our hearts what we need to know.

What Does the Bible Say about Anxiety?

Reading about anxiety in the Bible can help us understand we are not a slave to it. This truth is powerful, but if we don’t truly believe it, we won’t be able to experience the breadth of hope freely offered to us.

If peace begins on the inside but we’re standing knee-deep in stress and turmoil, how can we begin to shift our eyes off the problems so we can have a peace-filled, hopeful view?

Using Scripture for anxiety is powerful.

This tool is not a quick fix but meant to be a lifestyle, one that promotes health in our body, mind, and spirit so we can begin to trade reactions for responses rooted in truth.

Six Bible Verses about Anxiety

Below are six Bible verses about anxiety to help you hide God’s Word in your heart as a tool for overcoming moments of intense worry.

“…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.” – Philippians 4:6-7, ESV

“Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7, The Passion Translation

Let’s chew on what we’ve read so far.

If the opportunity to worry comes at us daily, then daily cast-practicing might be the next class we need to sign up for!

Remember: God is always greater than every unknown scary thing.

When we set the problem beside the Maker of heaven and earth, we can begin to speak to ourselves in a way that glorifies Him and puts the issue back in its place.

Problems do not belong on thrones. They are not rulers of us. Reminding ourselves of this truth is a daily habit we are encouraged to live out.

The Lord never tires of our need for reminding. He is unfailing and always available for us. David knew this and called on him for help continually. He experienced relief from anxiety when pressure knocked on his heart’s door.

Reading some of the Psalms reminds us that David also had to make this a regular practice.

“You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows.” – Psalm 23:5, The Passion Translation

How can this Psalm fall into the category of Scripture for anxiety? If David was surrounded by hard things, including people who wanted him dead, how did he experience peace?

What about the inner voices threatening to steal the peace he just claimed? If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. David went through many battles for much of his life.

Re-read Psalm 23:5.

This verse gives us a taste of the kind of hope and peace God gives; the type that can’t be taken away when change occurs.

When chaos around and within taunts us, God can give us what we need in the moment. Our trust muscle needs to be built up. Life experiences allow this.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” – Matthew 6:34, NLT

Most of us wake up dreading the hard things in life, real or imaginative.

Dread is not our friend. It feeds anxiety.

Joyce Meyer once said, “Dread, which is closely related to fear, steals the ability to enjoy ordinary life and makes people anxious about the future. It keeps them from looking forward to the next day, the next month, or the next decade.”

We can make plans, but Proverbs 16:9 reminds us we are not left alone to carry them out. Let’s not hand over another chunk of our day or night by ruminating on what we cannot control.

We don’t have to let outward circumstances dictate our inner life.

Because God is in control, we have power. Anxiety is kept at bay not by denying its existence and the things that cause it to rear its ugly head, but by acknowledging there is One who is bigger than all the anxiety in the world combined.

He is not intimidated by anxiety, and He will not leave us alone to fend it off as if we might earn some badge of merit for doing so.

We can lean on Him. He wants us to.

“You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.” – Isaiah 26:3, AMP

If our heart can be easily led astray, what keeps us anchored in truth?

If we are inclined to cave to panic when hard things come our way, we can help combat anxiety by reading Bible verses about not worrying.

It’s counterintuitive to our problem-solving brains. Sometimes worry and overthinking may even feel productive, like if we think about the problem one more time, surely, we will find an answer.

The Lord’s gift of peace is promised to us whether we’ve arrived at the right answer or not.

But doesn’t constant peace sound far-fetched in today’s chaotic world? Operating from a place of peace takes practice. We can use muscle memory from previous times we were cared for, to remember nothing in the future is too big for God to handle.

Yes, external circumstances can take on all forms, some of them scary and filled with much sorrow—but when you cast your cares on the Lord, God gives peace that passes understanding.

Reading specific Scripture for anxiety can help us win the battle with anxiety and fear.

Over and over again as we live our lives, we practice handing overwhelming situations to an all-powerful and perfectly loving Father.

Healthy repetition changes our responses. With God’s help we can shift from panic and worry to trust. Instant trust doesn’t necessarily look perfect. Our hearts may still beat quickly. We may still have sweaty palms.

Practicing trust is like practicing anything else. We still get on the bike and pedal, but we are not alone on the journey.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5 ESV

People might come at us with words, labels, and even diagnoses. The news may flash a horrible image, or we might be walking with a friend through a dark time in their life.

Hair-raising events and difficult times may cause us to shake in our boots or run to Google for answers. There will always be something negative to dwell on or worry about, but that is no way to live.

When we dethrone anxiety and practice taking in information without letting it rule our insides, we become like a rudder, able to steer ourselves in a better direction.

When we choose to trust in the Lord despite the circumstances, and despite what we know about a situation, we do not deny reality, we are merely keeping our mind in a healthy place with a hope-filled posture.

Yes, we might still be in the thick of the storm but choosing to respond calmly and thoughtfully rather than reactionary can help us ward off the anxiety that tries to tell us how we should live our lives.

As we go about our days, may we remember the power of mindful habits and practices.

Trusting God by acknowledging our current reality but choosing instead to speak life over ourselves, situations, and others will only ever benefit.