Worry: A Thief that Causes Paralysis of Faith

Worrying can be an addiction that goes unseen and unaddressed. Yet, it can wreck so much havoc on your life! In this blog, we’ve taken an excerpt from the NIV Woman’s Study Bible. Hear this exhortation, read Bible verses about worry, and then spend some time in prayer and reflection!

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT WORRY

Depending on context, words translated as “cares” and “concerns” or “fear” and “anxiety” can be either right or wrong attitudes in a Christian’s life. Fear is right when it is reverence toward God because of his holiness (Isa 8:13), and care is good when showing concern for others (1Co 12:25; 2Co 11:28). But worry is always wrong, for it paralyzes active faith in your life.

JESUS TAUGHT: DO NOT WORRY

When you worry, you assume responsibility for things you were never intended to handle. Jesus repeatedly taught, “Do not worry” (Gk. merimneo, lit. “to divide the mind”), even about the basic essentials of life (Mt 6:25–34). Worry divides your mind between useful and hurtful thinking. Worrying does not change anything (Mt 6:27) except to draw your focus away from God and his faithfulness and righteousness to concerns about the things of life, such as possessions and material goods (Mt 6:31).

WORRYING IS HARMFUL

Worry is a choking, harmful emotion that saps your energy and elevates human strength and ingenuity above God’s strength and his purposeful plan. Sources of worry include change, lack of understanding and lack of control over your life. Worry opens the door to worldliness, that is, preoccupation with the things of this life. Though the children of Israel had watched God split open the Red Sea to deliver them from Egypt, they could not believe he would provide water in the desert to meet their needs.

Worry is the opposite of faith, suggesting that God cannot be trusted to take care of you or to provide what you need (Php 4:19).

WORRY CAUSES FEAR TO CROWD OUT FAITH

Thus, in the final reckoning, “the cowardly” are listed alongside the “unbelieving” (Rev 21:8). Linking worry with unbelief, Scripture gives direction for a return to full faith. The road from worry to faith begins with recognition that worry is sin and confession of lack of faith (Ps 139:23), continues with deliverance (Ps 34:4), and finally ends with the assurance that absolutely nothing can separate you from the love of God who is the great I am (Ro 8:35; Ex 3:14–15).

In place of anxious thoughts, you then freely offer thanksgiving from a heart established with trust in God as all sufficient (Ps 112:7–8; Php 4:6–7).

What worry or fear are you surrendering to the Lord today?

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT WORRY

Bible Verses About Worry #1: Psalm 23:1–6

“¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Bible Verses About Worry #2: Psalm 94:19

“When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.”

Bible Verses About Worry #3: Luke 10:40–42

⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” 

Bible Verses About Worry #4: Matthew 6:25

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” 

NIV WOMAN’S STUDY BIBLE

The Woman’s Study Bible poignantly reveals the Word of God to women, inviting them to receive God’s truth for balance, hope, and transformation. Special features designed to speak to a woman’s heart appear throughout the Bible text, revealing Scripture-based insights about how godly womanhood grows from a woman’s identity as a Christ-follower and a child of the Kingdom.

The Woman’s Study Bible reflects the contributions of over 80 women from a wide variety of ethnic, denominational, educational, and occupational backgrounds. Since the publication of the first edition of The Woman’s Study Bible under the editorial guidance of Dorothy Kelley Patterson and Rhonda Harrington Kelley, this landmark study Bible has sold over 1.5 million copies.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NIV WOMAN’S STUDY BIBLE ON OUR WEBSITE.