7 Bible Verses That Will Calm Your Nerves

Here are seven Bible verses that I hope will calm your nerves today.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Just before Jesus went to the cross to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), He knew they were deeply troubled about His going away. They were probably feeling lost about now, and almost like orphans, even though Jesus promised them earlier, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18), so the disciples, knowing that Jesus was going to leave them and then to return to the Father, must have felt anxious about it. That makes Jesus’ statement even more profound as He tells them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you,” which means it’s a permanent possession, unlike the peace the world gives. That peace is fleeting; it can come and go, however Jesus’ peace remains, despite the circumstances.

Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Moses was giving instructions to Joshua, who would soon be Israel’s new leader, under God. Moses was going to “be gathered unto his people” (Num 20:24), or die, and now Joshua would have to take over. Joshua, being human, must have at least had concern about the future. Moses isn’t hoping Joshua will be strong and courageous, he tells him, as it’s given as an imperative command. To help Joshua deal with all this, Moses’ comforts him by saying, “Don’t be afraid of them because God’s going to with you, and He’s not going to leave you or forsake you.”

Psalm 107:29-30 “He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.”

Reminds one of Jesus’ calming the storm, doesn’t it? Either of these accounts could be said of Him. Whatever is created is always less than the creator of it, and as such, is generally in submission to it. In this case, God is the Creator and He can do as He pleases, whenever He pleases. He can create a storm, or still a storm. The point being, if God can create the storm, and is sovereign (rules) over the storm, and can rebuke the storm, He is also able to calm the storm in your life.

Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

If you’re familiar with a yoke, it’s a device that’s used to spread out the weight evenly between two or more animals. In this way, both (or more) can work together and share the load. Also, all the energy for pulling the load is placed upon the yoke, and not any one animal. Jesus’ listeners would have been well acquainted with this image, so they understood that Jesus was telling them, let Me take weight; let Me pull the load; and in that we, you get rest. This is not a physical rest Jesus’ is speaking about, although that might be part of the load He can help with, but this is “rest for your souls.” So why not, “Come to” Jesus.

Psalm 56:11 “In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

The Book of Psalms is a great place to pitch your tent when your nerves are feeling shot. The many things you’re feeling anxious about, is because you’re not putting your trust in God. I know, I’ve done it. The thing is, when you trust, you do not fear; and when you do not fear, you do not worry; you’ do not worry about what anyone will do to you…because you trust in God.

Mark 4:39 “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Here is the verse that came to mind in the previous verse in Psalm 107. Obviously Jesus had enough peace to be able to sleep through the storm. Certainly He may have been tired enough to sleep through it, but the disciples were terrified and woke Him up, and gave Him a mild rebuke by asking Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing” (Mark 4:38)? Really!? Jesus didn’t care enough if they died? Wow! He was actually going to die for them, later. Jesus got up and rebuked the wind, which in the context would mean He literally rebuked the entire storm. Storms were often very fierce and dangerous on that sea, and could come at unexpected times. Even so, Jesus was in the boat with them, and they thought they were going to die….and Jesus would be with them? Don’t be too hard on them…they had not yet received the full measure of the Holy Spirit. In the future, the Spirit would really open their eyes.

John 14:1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.”

The disciple’s consternation over Jesus’ leaving them was obvious, so instead of focusing on His leaving, Jesus reminds them that they believe in God. Since they believe in God, they can believe in Him, so there’s really no reason to have a troubled heart. That gets back to the matter of trust. Their troubled heart needed trust in God. Trust should eradicate fear or anxiety if that trust is in God.

Psalm 23:7 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

David knew a lot about “shadows of death,” as King Saul shamelessly hunted him down like an animal, and would have killed him if he’d caught him. I realize that this psalm is not about David and Saul; it’s about the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, but even so, David knew about shadows of death, but shadows are not the same as the real thing. I’d rather get hit by a bus’s shadow than by an actual bus. If you know it’s only a shadow, it should help lower your fears. Besides, the Good Shepherd’s got His staff and rod with him. That’s comforting, isn’t it?

Conclusion

Might I suggest you camp out in the Book of Psalms for a while? They’re great reading anytime you’re feeling anxious. The Psalms are one of the greatest stress-busters you find in the Bible, because again, they remind you about God and how you can trust Him, knowing he “who goes with you [and] He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.