Raising children, maintaining your household, keeping healthy, taking care of all of your everyday responsibilities, as well as keeping in touch with family and friends sometimes means your time with God gets crowded out of your day. When my relationship with God takes a back seat to other things in my life, I have found that trying ‘to do life’ on my own apart from Him often leads to frustration, discouragement, and even anxiety and depression. 

That doesn’t need to happen, though! When I choose to start my day by spending time with God and listening to the Words of my Heavenly Father to me, I am able to overcome those discouraging moments as I am always instructed by His Word and reminded that I am never alone…He is with me to strengthen and guide my every step! 

His Word includes many Bible verses about anxiety and depression that can teach us how to take control of our thoughts when we’re tempted to become discouraged and depressed.

Overcoming Life’s Obstacles with Bible Verses about Anxiety and Depression

Have you ever felt overwhelmed and discouraged by circumstances in your personal life? Or do you feel the world in which we live is unraveling in front of you? 

I remember a time in my life when I felt like I was ‘drowning’ due to my circumstances, and the Holy Spirit led me to the account of the prophet Elijah. Even Elijah–known to be a great man of faith and used mightily by God– was discouraged when a death threat was issued against him. He thought that everyone else had abandoned God and that he alone was faithful to Him (1 Kings 19:4-18). 

Elijah ran away out of fear for his life into the desert, sat down under a tree, and was so depressed that he exclaimed in a prayer that he wished he would die. The Lord sent an angel to Elijah to minister to his physical needs–giving him both food and water to sustain him– and after being nourished by food, water, and rest, he followed the angel’s instructions to go to Mount Horeb where he had a ‘God encounter.’ 

First, he poured his heart out to the Lord, sharing that while he’d been zealous for the Lord, the rest of the people of Israel had forsaken God. God instructed him to “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the Lord is about to pass by.” 

Then Elijah obeyed God and went and stood on the mountain as God had told him to do. A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. Next came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. But then came a gentle whisper…and God spoke to Elijah.

Next, Elijah received encouragement and instruction from God. The Lord informed him that the truth was that he was not alone; there were 7,000 other people in Israel who had not bowed down to the idols and had remained faithful to the Lord. He also instructed him regarding what he should do next; he was to anoint the next king of Aram and anoint Elisha, who would succeed him as a prophet to the people.

What can we learn from this account of Elijah’s life?

• God is always watching over you, and He cares about and can provide for your every need. 
• He is a safe place for you to pour out your thoughts and feelings. 
• He loves you even when you feel weak, discouraged, depressed, and so low that you may even wish you were dead.
• He knows that you will become depressed and discouraged if your focus is only upon yourself and not upon Him and the greater’ story of Life’.
• You will get discouraged, which can lead to anxiety and depression if you believe lies instead of knowing and believing the truth.
• God longs to guide and instruct you, and as you obey Him, you will be blessed and encouraged by participating in His work on earth.

Renew Your Mind in God’s Word to Defeat Anxiety and Depression

When you have feelings of anxiety and depression, make spending time in God’s Word a priority! Doing so will get your eyes off your circumstances and onto Him, who is Sovereign over every aspect of your life. Being in His Word will remind you that God is with you and for you, and as you come to know Him as He’s revealed in His Word, you will be confident that you can safely ‘cast your cares upon Him for He does indeed care you’! (1 Peter 5:7) 

The Word of God is truth, so spending time reading it will help you to discern lies, the very lies that if you choose to believe them–like Elijah did in thinking he was the only one faithful to God– can easily lead to you becoming anxious and depressed. In addition, the more you read the Bible, the more you’ll realize the depth of God’s love for you, which in turn will cause you to love Him more. And if you love Him, you will desire to obey Him, which always leads to blessings. (John 14:15; Deuteronomy 30: 9-10) The greatest blessing of all will be that He will make known to you the path of life, and you will experience the joy and pleasures that are only found in His presence! (Psalm 16:11)

We created special ‘Faith Your Fear Prayer & Scripture Cards’ at True View that illuminate God’s Word. The cards are designed to grow your faith and teach you how to pray His Word. Learn more here.