Overcoming Anxiety with God When Your Heart Won’t Stop Racing

Hi friends,

I wonder if you guys know that feeling; the one where your chest tightens before you’ve even opened your eyes in the morning. Where your mind starts cataloging everything that could go wrong today before your feet touch the floor. Where anxiety doesn’t knock politely at the door but barges in uninvited, making itself at home in every corner of your thoughts.

I’ve been there. I’ve sat at my kitchen table with cooling coffee, Bible open, tears falling, wondering why overcoming anxiety with God feels so much harder than all those Instagram posts make it seem. Why does peace feel like something other people get to experience while I’m left white knuckling my way through another day?

If that’s where you are right now, I want you to know something: you’re not failing at faith. You’re human. And God’s grace is big enough for both your belief and your trembling hands.

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The Garden Where Anxiety Grows

There’s a reason Jesus chose a garden as the place to face His greatest anguish. Gardens are places of growth, but they’re also places where weeds take root if we’re not careful. Anxiety is one of those weeds. It doesn’t announce itself with a grand entrance. It starts small, almost reasonable. What if this happens? What if that goes wrong?

Before you know it, those small what-ifs have sprawled across your entire mental landscape, choking out the flowers of peace God planted there.

I used to think that overcoming anxiety with God meant I would wake up one morning and simply not feel anxious anymore. Like flipping a switch. Bible verse, prayer, peace, done. But that’s not quite how He works, is it? God doesn’t usually remove the storm. He teaches us to stand steady in it.

When God Feels Distant in Your Anxiety

Here’s something I wish someone had told me earlier: you can be anxious and loved by God at the same time. These two things are not mutually exclusive.

Psalm 34:18 says, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Not “the Lord is close to those who have it all together.” Not “the Lord is close to those who pray perfectly and never doubt.” Close to the brokenhearted. Close to the crushed.

That’s you. That’s me. That’s all of us stumbling through this beautiful, broken world.

When anxiety whispers that God is disappointed in your fear, remember: Jesus Himself sweat drops of blood in Gethsemane. He understands the weight of dread, the heaviness of anticipating pain. He doesn’t stand at a distance, arms crossed, waiting for you to pull yourself together. He kneels in the dirt with you.

The Scriptural Foundation for Peace

Let’s anchor ourselves in truth for a moment, because anxiety is a skilled liar. It tells us worst-case scenarios as if they’re prophecies. It convinces us we’re alone. It makes mountains out of molehills and monsters out of shadows.

But God’s Word speaks a different language:

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Notice it doesn’t say “figure everything out first, then pray.” It says bring it all—the big things, the small things, the unreasonable things—to God. Not because He needs to be informed, but because you need to release the grip.

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Matthew 6:34 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

This verse used to frustrate me. It felt too simple. But Jesus isn’t minimizing our struggles. He’s teaching us the practice of staying present. Anxiety always lives in the future, in the land of “what if.” Jesus invites us back to today, where His grace is sufficient, where His presence is real.

I recently wrote a more in-depth Bible study on worry and anxiety that you might find helpful. You can read it here. It’s a gentle exploration of what Scripture really says when we’re in the thick of it.

Practical Steps for Overcoming Anxiety with God

Now, let’s talk about what this actually looks like in the everyday. Because theology is beautiful, but we also need tools for Tuesday morning when the anxiety hits before the alarm goes off.

Anchor Your Morning

Before you check your phone (I know, I know, it’s hard), spend five minutes grounding yourself in God’s presence. This doesn’t have to be elaborate. Read one verse. Pray one honest sentence. Light a candle and sit in the quiet.

I keep a journal by my bed specifically for this. Some mornings I write prayers. Some mornings I write complaints. God can handle both. The point is to orient your heart toward Him before the world starts making demands.

If you’re looking for resources to make your quiet time feel a bit more cozy and intentional, I’ve curated some of my favorite Christian daily devotionals and Bible study tools here. Sometimes having a beautiful journal or a devotional guide can make all the difference in building that morning habit.

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Name the Anxiety Out Loud

There’s power in bringing things into the light. When anxiety is just a swirling cloud in your head, it feels enormous and undefined. But when you name it, when you say out loud or write down “I’m anxious about money” or “I’m scared I’m failing as a mother”—it becomes something specific. And specific things can be prayed about.

God already knows what you’re afraid of, but you might need to hear yourself say it. It’s the difference between drowning in a vague fog and identifying the actual waves.

Practice Gratitude as Rebellion

This might sound strange, but gratitude is one of the most rebellious acts against anxiety. Anxiety wants you to fixate on what’s wrong, what’s missing, what could go wrong. Gratitude pulls your eyes to what’s here, what’s good, what God has already provided.

I’m not talking about toxic positivity or pretending everything is fine. I’m talking about holding both the hard and the holy at the same time. Yes, today was difficult. And also, the light coming through the window is beautiful. Both can be true.

Let Your Body Help Your Soul

Anxiety isn’t just mental, it’s physical. Your body holds stress in your shoulders, your jaw, your stomach. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a walk, stretch, breathe deeply for sixty seconds.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Caring for your body isn’t separate from your spiritual life. It is a part of it. When I’m spiraling, I’ve learned to ask myself: “Have I eaten today? Have I had water? Have I moved my body?” Sometimes the anxiety lifts just a little when I tend to these basic needs.

The Long Obedience in the Same Direction

Here’s what I want you to know, friend: overcoming anxiety with God isn’t usually a one-time victory. It’s a practice. It’s a thousand small choices to turn toward Him instead of toward fear. It’s learning to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd among all the other voices clamoring for your attention.

Some days you’ll do this well. Some days you’ll forget everything you know and dissolve into worry. That’s okay. God’s mercies are new every morning, remember? Yesterday’s failure doesn’t disqualify you from today’s grace.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Your anxiety doesn’t disqualify you from God’s power. In some mysterious way, it creates space for it. When you come to Him empty-handed, trembling, uncertain; that’s when His strength shines brightest.

The Peace That Doesn’t Make Sense

The peace God offers isn’t the absence of trouble. It’s not a life where nothing ever goes wrong or a mind that never worries. It’s something better than that. It’s a deep, unshakable knowing that you are held, even when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

It’s the kind of peace that doesn’t make sense to the outside world. How can you be calm when circumstances are chaotic? How can you sleep when there are bills to pay and children to worry about and a hundred things undone?

Because you’ve learned to rest not in your circumstances, but in your God. Because you’ve practiced (day after difficult day) bringing your anxious thoughts to Him and leaving them there. Because you’ve discovered that His presence is the only fortress that actually holds.

A Prayer for the Anxious Heart

Father,

I bring You my anxious heart. All the tangled thoughts, the racing pulse, the fear that feels too big to carry. I don’t have it all figured out. Some days I don’t even know what I’m afraid of; I just know I’m afraid.

Meet me here. Remind me that You are close to the brokenhearted, that Your peace is available even when my mind won’t stop spinning. Help me learn to breathe again, to trust again, to rest in Your presence even when I can’t see the way forward.

Teach me to come to You with everything: the reasonable worries and the ridiculous ones, the big fears and the small anxieties. I’m learning that You want all of it, that nothing is too small for Your attention or too big for Your power.

Thank You for being patient with my process. Thank You for not requiring perfection before You offer peace. Thank You for the promise that Your grace is sufficient, even on the days when I’m anything but.

I’m choosing today, this moment, to trust You with what I cannot control.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

You’re Not Alone in This

Friend, I know the journey of overcoming anxiety with God feels long sometimes. I know there are mornings when you wonder if you’re making any progress at all, if God even hears your prayers, if peace is something you’ll ever actually experience.

But you are not alone. Not in your struggle, and not in your faith. The same God who calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee is present with you in your kitchen, your car, your quiet moments before dawn. He sees you. He’s not waiting for you to be less anxious before He loves you. He loves you right here, right now, racing heart and all.

Keep showing up. Keep bringing your anxiety to Him. Keep choosing trust when everything in you wants to choose fear. This is the work of faith. Not doing it perfectly, but doing it at all.

And on the days when even that feels too hard, remember: God’s got you. His hands are big enough to hold both you and your anxiety. You don’t have to overcome it alone. You were never meant to.

With love and prayers for your peace,

Selah

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About the Author

Selah is a Christian lifestyle blogger and artist passionate about offering Christian anxiety help through Bible verses and prayer. Through gentle devotionals, practical faith tips, and cozy reflections, she helps women trade worry for peace by resting in God’s promises and presence.

✦ Make sure to follow my socials! → https://linktr.ee/selahshalom
✦ Shop devotional art and prints here → https://valleyfernstudio.etsy.com/

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