Calm Your Mind and Find Peace With These 25 Bible Verses About Stress

A woman is looking out on a shoreline holding her Bible

Thinking is good. How many times have you heard that it's best to think before you speak? We need to give thoughtful consideration to our words. Overthinking, on the other hand, tends to backfire on us. In times of stress, it's more common to overthink or run through different scenarios over and over again. This can actually lead to more stress. All of the re-hashing and what-if scenarios that play around in our brains cause confusion and an inability to act.

So what does Scripture say about stress and overthinking? Luckily, it says a lot. These 25 Bible verses about stress will help to strengthen faith and get rid of overthinking.

All of us experience stress at one time or another and for many, it happens on an ongoing basis. Fortunately, faith can be a comfort and a tool when it comes to facing stressful situations or finding calm in the chaos. 

Related: 'Come to Me, All You Who Are Weary and Burdened, and I Will Give You Rest'—50 Bible Verses for Anxiety

What Does the Bible Say About Stress and Overthinking?

1. Look Up in Prayer

Since stress and overthinking stem from looking inside ourselves for solutions, the Bible points us in a totally new direction. We need to look up. God has a perfect plan and He never worries or stresses. All we have to do is look to Him for guidance and direction and He promises to show us the way.

Psalm 32:8 says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." When we can let go and trust God for the answer, we will be filled with peace that surpasses all understanding.

2. Renew Your Mind

The Bible also instructs us to not conform to the world's way of thinking but to renew our minds with scripture. We need to reconcile our thoughts with what the Bible says so that we can determine God's perfect will for us and be confident in the decisions we make.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is." The only way that we can know God's will is to know what is true from the Bible. Daily Bible study and verse memorization will keep His ways fresh in our minds.

3. Focus on the Positive

Worry, doubt and fear are all negative thoughts. Typically, we have a lot of these negative emotions or thoughts when we are going through a stressful situation. One way to combat that is to flood our minds with some positive energy.

Stilling our minds and meditating on Bible verses is a great way to stop the spiral of anxious thoughts caused by turning inward. It causes us to look up instead of in which produces true peace in knowing that God is in control. As it says in Romans 15:13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Related: Quiet the Anxiety in Your Head—20 Best Ways To Stop Overthinking

25 Bible Verses About Stress

Although there are hundreds of verses that work well to calm the brain and promote peace, these 25 verses speak most clearly on how to handle stress and overthinking.

1. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

2. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11

3. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7

4. "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." - Exodus 14:14

5. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above not earthly things." - Colossians 3:1-2

6. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." - Psalm 139:23-24

7. "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

8. "Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." - 2 Thessalonians 3:16

9. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34

10. "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11

11. "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23

12. "So we say with confidence, the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” - Hebrews 13:6

Related: Scriptures That Shine Light in the Darkness—Here Are 35 Bible Verses for Depression

13. "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Phillippians 4:8

14. "The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him." - Exodus 15:2

15. "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." - Romans 5:3-4

16. "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." - Phillippians 4:13

17. "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” - Deuteronomy 31:6

18. "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." - Romans 12:12

19. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." - Isaiah 40:29

20. "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." - Proverbs 4:23

21. "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." - James 1:12

22. "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." - Exodus 14:14

23. "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." - Psalm 56:3

24. "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10

25. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." - 2 Corinthians 10:5

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