Article By Amanda Bishop // EEW Magazine Spiritual // Lifestyle

Stress, a feeling of emotional and physical tension, can make life’s hardships, transitions and challenges especially difficult. If you don’t handle stress properly, it can lead to physical ailments—even depression, anxiety and excessive worry.

To help you avoid going down that unpleasant and endless rabbit hole, here are 10 stress-busting scriptures that will get you back on track, and help you find comfort in the soothing, powerful, and liberating word of God.

John 14:27 NIV “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” The world gives you trouble. Christ gives you peace. Lean on Him, and you will successfully resist feelings of fearfulness, and anxiousness—whatever you’re going through.

Matthew 6:27 NLT “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Allowing your mind to fixate on your troubles will only rob you of tranquility, torment you, and exacerbate stress-induced symptoms in your emotions, and body. Instead of worrying, laugh, treasure precious moments, and enjoy the abundant life Christ died—and rose— to give you (John 10:10).

Philippians 4:8 NIV “Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.” As we have already established, your thoughts affect your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. If you fill your mind with toxic things, you will get toxic results. As Scriptures says, you are transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).

Isaiah 26:3 NKJV “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Trusting the Lord in every circumstance is the key to peacefulness. So rest in Him. Your confidence must not be in your situation, but in the God who controls every situation.

Matthew 6:34 NIV “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Are you guilty of projecting into the future and trying to plan out every detail of your life? If so, these are the main ingredients in the recipe for frustration, hopelessness, discouragement, and increased levels of worry. That’s why you must master living in the moment, as this verse prescribes, while placing your total hope ad confidence in the Master of the whole universe. As you already know, He has a good plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11)!

Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV “Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.” Are you worrying or praying? You can’t do both. When you put your prayer requests on the altar before the Lord and leave them there—with a heart full of thanksgiving— God will give you peace. Go ahead and try it. It works. Guaranteed.

2 Kings 4:26 NASB "…And she answered, ‘It is well.’" So many people love this verse, and with good reason. In Scripture, there was this Shunammite woman whose son died. In the end, God used the prophet Elisha to resurrect the dead boy. But before that ever happened, in the midst of the trouble, when she was asked if everything was okay, she said, “It is well.” Amazing response, right? Well, you can respond that way, too. Adopt her mentality so that, even in the worst times, you will preserve your peace, and reduce stress, as you await the best times that are yet to come.

Matthew 4:4 NIV “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, instead of giving into temptation, He fought back with the word of God. If Jesus Christ, who was the Word in the flesh (John 1:1) used Scripture to fight and defeat Satan, so can you. Whip out your “sword of the spirit”—another name for the word of God according to Ephesians 6:17—and cut through stress.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV “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.” Not being able to determine outcomes is admittedly stressful. It’s true. When you are uncertain about which direction to go, you tend to internalize worry and anxiety, producing a negative effect. But the Bible prescribes reliance on God to reduce stress and apprehension. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? When you don’t know what to do, lean on the One who does. He has all the power anyway.

John 14:1 ESV “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” Being troubled, vexed and perplexed is no fun at all. The cure for those unpleasant side effects of worry is faith in God. You’ve got to believe. Put your total confidence in the Lord… in Christ the Risen Savior. Believe that in the midst of turmoil, He is more than able to turn your troubles into triumphs, according to His perfect will.

While you can read about a plethora of ways to naturally combat and reduce stress, the word of God is by far the best solution. After all, it is the only thing with power to transform you—mind, body, and soul.

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