Scripture talks about anxiety often, and it never once treats it as a character flaw. Again and again, God invites you to hand Him the weight instead of carrying it, to pray about the specific thing, and to receive a peace that does not wait for your situation to change.
Before we go any further: if anxiety is affecting your sleep, your work, or your ability to get through an ordinary day, please talk to a doctor or a counselor. Faith and medical care are not competitors. God works through both, and asking for help is not a lack of faith.
Marilyn Hickey taught on fear and worry for decades, in Believe Big and in a small book called Conquering Worry. This page is her teaching, in her own words. The few lines we add only connect them.
No one wants to worry. But when you wake up at two in the morning, your mind begins to spin, wondering “What if?” and “What am I going to do?” and countless other questions you can’t answer at that particular moment, if ever. Over and over. Round and round.
It happens in the daytime too. It can start in the morning and weigh you down all day long. Worrying is one of the things we seem to be born with. No one needs to be taught to worry. And no one can say, “I’m worry-free.”
Is anxiety a sin?
No. Did you know the Bible is full of anxious people God loved deeply? Elijah wanted to die right after his greatest victory. David wrote whole psalms from the middle of dread. Even Jesus was in such anguish in Gethsemane that His sweat was like drops of blood, and He was without sin!
The Bible does tell us not to worry, and Marilyn never softened that. But she heard it as good news, not a verdict.
So how do we get out of worry? I have good news: it can be done. God wouldn’t tell us not to worry if it wasn’t possible. The Bible tells us not to worry, and it tells us how to trust God and get out of worry.
Paul was in his final days when he wrote a letter to the church at Philippi. He knew his time was short, and if ever there was a time to worry for him, this would have been it. Instead, he was full of peace and joy. He encouraged the growing church to follow his example:
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.
Philippians 4:6–7
What is the instruction? Hand it over: in everything, by prayer, with specifics. And notice the promise! It does not say everything changes overnight. It says the peace of God stands guard over your heart and your mind while you wait. What a promise!
Not all fear is the same
The word “fear” comes from the root word phobos, meaning: “to be intimidated by the enemy, to be in dread or terror.” A phobia is considered an irrational fear; a fear that is based on an unrealistic expectation of something that might happen. What terrifies you? What intimidates you? What do you dread?
There is also deilia, the timidity that stops you before you even start, and pachad, the dread of death itself. But not every fear is the enemy. Look at this one:
Another type of fear worth mentioning is eulabeia, translated as “caution and reverence; godly, holy, and reverent fear.” This is not a negative fear.
That is the reverence we bring to God, and it is good for you. And there is one more word: aphobos, “without fear.” That is not a personality type. That is something you can ask God for!
Why does fear take hold so easily?
Where does fear get its power? The same place faith gets its power: from what you listen to.
There is a clear relationship between fear and faith: both originate from the information you receive. Faith is built on information from God and His Word.
Fear feeds on everything else: the news, the forecasts, the worst-case story you tell yourself at two in the morning.
Fear is actually faith in something you don’t want to happen.
You can never get out of worry without faith. You can never get out of negativity without faith. When we worry, we go round and round and round in circles.
So the answer is not to try harder to feel calm. Change what you put in front of your mind, on purpose, every day, until God’s Word is louder than the fear.
Peter, and the moment he looked around
Do you want to see anxiety in the Bible? Watch Peter. He was doing fine until he looked at the waves.
And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Matthew 14:29–30
Peter was doing fine walking on the water until he looked around and focused on his circumstances. As soon as he took his eyes off Jesus, doubt overtook him, and fear overcame him. His senses took over: his ears heard the howling of the wind; even though it was dark, his eyes may have seen the storm clouds moving; his body felt the thrust of the waves; an awareness of danger gave way to anxiety and fear, and he took his eyes off the goal—Jesus! Even though Jesus was close by, Peter let fear come in, and because he did so, he began to sink.
Now watch what Jesus does. He does not lecture Peter. He catches him first, and then He speaks. Have you been afraid that God is waiting for you to get your anxiety sorted out before He will come close? Here is your answer: He comes close first.
Maybe you know the feeling. You know what it’s like to be fearful—your heart begins to pound, and your breath gets shallow. Peter knew it too. And Jesus was right there.
How do I get out of worry?
Marilyn gave four practical keys, and you can start every one of them tonight.
Live in today
Marilyn had a picture for it.
I learned something very interesting about ships. To keep water from flooding the entire ship, the captain can pull a lever, closing doors and locking them, isolating a flooded section. That keeps the water from flowing into the rest of the ship and sinking.
One of the keys to getting out of worry is to live in today. Just like a ship, we need to seal off worry from the present. You see people all around you fussing and fretting, going around in a circle of worry. They haven’t locked it up.
Worry about the past? Lock it up. Worry about the future? Lock it up. We can’t control it anyway.
Keeping a “today” mentality is a very important key. Life is fragile, but today is a wonderful gift from God. If you spend it worrying about what has already happened or what might happen next, you will drown in a spiral of things you cannot control.
We may not feel glad. We may not feel like thanking God for the day. Do it anyway. When I get up in the morning, I begin with: “Thank you, God, for the gift of this day.”
Jesus also tells us not to worry about the future. He says that everything we could possibly need to do according to His will is promised. Why worry when you have today?
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Jesus put it another way, as He taught His disciples to pray. He didn’t teach them to pray for a secure future. Instead, He taught:
“Give us this day our daily bread.”
If we’re trapped in a cycle of worry, we may not feel like rejoicing. “What if I lose my job?” “What if I don’t have money for the future?” As God provides for today, remember, He is big enough to provide for tomorrow too. And every day after.
Speak the Word
Getting out of worry begins with having knowledge of the Word. It is activated by speaking the Word. Speak it to God, speak it to yourself, speak it to others, speak it to the devil. Even when you don’t feel like it, speak the Word over your situation and trust God to break the cycle.
Get a plan
Worry can eat a whole day. A plan gives the day back. And notice what the plan is made of: prayer and worship, not willpower.
When you’re worried, pray. Speak the Word over your worries. Get a plan. Get into faith and worship God. Sing a song. Sing about how great God is. Sing a song over your worries about victory. Treasure the day and all that God has already done for you, and trust Him to take care of everything for you.
Face the worst thing
Her last key sounds backwards until you try it.
When you start to worry about something, think about the worst thing that could happen. Then give it to God.
God promises to provide for every need you have every day to fulfill His mission in your life. If you lose your job, God can provide another. If you’re broke, God can provide for your daily needs.
What Bible verses help with anxiety?
Here are six verses to keep close. Each one does something different.
- 1 Peter 5:7. Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Cast is a throwing word. Throw it, and do not take it back.
- Isaiah 41:10. Fear not, for I am with you. God's answer to fear is His presence, not an explanation.
- Psalm 94:19. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul. Notice the word multitude. The psalmist was not exaggerating, and neither are you.
- Matthew 6:34. Do not worry about tomorrow. Jesus is not against planning. He is saying today is the day you have grace for.
- 2 Timothy 1:7. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. A sound mind is a gift, and a gift is something you can ask for!
- John 14:27. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives. The world's peace depends on the circumstances. His peace does not.
What do I actually do at three in the morning?
Marilyn did not write about this from a distance. She had been there herself.
Perhaps your fears are not easily identified. Simple insecurity, a lack of confidence in yourself, can be a byproduct of fear: “What if I try, but fail? What will people think of me? I’m afraid I’m not good enough.” Many times, I have awakened in the night and started to worry. Then I’d catch myself and bring to mind Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.” The devil would like to harass us through our thought-life. However, if we will commit our works to the Lord, our thought-life will come into line. We have all had negative thoughts at one time or another, but you can learn to take control of such thoughts. God has given you a “sound mind!” Put faith in the place of fear and the fear will disappear. You can become aphobos—“without fear.”
And she was honest about the season when fear got a grip she could not shake on her own. She went and got help.
I went to see a Christian counselor, and he was truly a gift from God. He was able to help me understand I really was troubled by fear and that the fear was oppressing me. Through this counselor, prayer, and faith, we worked a plan, and I got free from that fear.
My whole life changed.
If that is where you are, getting help is not the opposite of faith. It is what she did.
Here are five simple things you can do tonight.
- Be specific. Do not pray a vague prayer! “Make me less anxious” is a wish. Name the actual thing.
- Say it out loud, once. Something happens when you hear yourself hand it over. A silent thought cannot do that.
- Have one verse ready before you need it. Marilyn had Proverbs 16:3 ready. Choose yours now, while it is daylight, because three in the morning is not when you want to be searching.
- Add one line of thanksgiving. Paul put prayer and thanksgiving in the same sentence for a reason. Thanksgiving is not positive thinking. It is remembering that God has come through for you before!
- Tell one person. Anxiety gets heavier in private and lighter the moment somebody else knows.
And be careful what you plant tonight.
Both faith and fear will grow a crop in your life. Faith will yield a harvest of God’s best; fear will yield the devil’s worst: “For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me” (Job 3:25). God constantly warns us, “Do not fear!” Fear will produce the very thing we don’t want.
Before worry has a chance to get you down, decide right now that your faith will be stronger. Decide you are going to pray. Decide you are going to speak the Word over your worry. Decide you are going to analyze your situation.
Place your trust in God. He is bigger than any situation you could face, and He wants you to have His peace and His joy. Don’t give in to worry. Rejoice in the day the Lord has made. Remember, God has forgiven you for your past and has plans for your future.
A prayer
Father, I am handing You this by name, and I am not going to pick it up again tonight. You have not given me a spirit of fear. You have given me power and love and a sound mind, and I am asking for all three, tonight, in this room. Where I have been rehearsing what I do not want, quiet it. Thank You for what You have already carried me through. Guard my mind while I sleep.
If today is heavier than usual, please reach out to a doctor, a counselor, or someone you trust. Miracle Word Ministries prays with people every day, and the prayer line is open. His Word. His Power. Your Miracle.
Common questions
Is anxiety a sin in the Bible? No. Scripture records anxiety in faithful people and treats it as a weight to transfer, not a moral failure. It also names a good kind of fear, eulabeia, meaning reverence.
What does Philippians 4:6 actually promise? Not that the circumstance changes overnight, but that God's peace will guard your heart and mind while you wait.
Can a Christian take medication for anxiety? Yes. Medical care and faith are not in competition, and seeking treatment is not a lack of faith.
What is the difference between fear and reverence? Scripture uses different words. Phobos is dread and intimidation. Eulabeia is holy, reverent awe, and it is the kind you are meant to have toward God.
Why does worry feel so convincing? Because it works like faith pointed the wrong way. Marilyn taught that fear is faith in something you do not want to happen, and it grows the same way faith does: by what you keep listening to and repeating.
Source: Marilyn Hickey, Believe Big and Conquering Worry, Miracle Word Ministries. The teaching on this page appears in Marilyn Hickey’s own words. © Miracle Word Ministries. Used with permission.