Bible verses for worry speak to the everyday concerns that crowd the mind, from bills and health to family and work. Jesus addressed worry directly, reminding Martha of the one thing needful and asking his listeners whether fretting could add a single cubit to their stature. These verses encourage you to trade worry for trust, one concern at a time.
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:31-33 (KJV)
Instead of worrying about food and clothing, Jesus says to seek God’s kingdom first and trust him to add what you need.
And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
Luke 12:25-26 (KJV)
Jesus asks who by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature, showing how little worry achieves.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Luke 10:41-42 (KJV)
Jesus gently tells Martha she is careful and troubled about many things when only one thing is needful.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
Trust the Lord with all your heart rather than your own understanding, and he will direct your paths.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Psalms 37:5 (KJV)
Commit your way to the Lord and trust him, and he shall bring it to pass.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Psalms 37:7 (KJV)
Rest in the Lord and wait patiently, without fretting over others who seem to prosper.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 (KJV)
God will supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (KJV)
The person who trusts God is like a tree by water that is not careful in the year of drought.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Psalms 127:2 (KJV)
God gives his beloved sleep, so rising early and sitting up late in anxious toil is vain.
Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Psalms 62:8 (KJV)
Trust him at all times and pour out your heart before him, for God is a refuge.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
Paul directs the mind toward whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good report.
And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Isaiah 46:4 (KJV)
Even into old age, God promises to carry and deliver his people.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
Psalms 112:7 (KJV)
The righteous are not afraid of evil tidings, because their heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)
Be content with what you have, for God has said he will never leave nor forsake you.
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32 (KJV)
If God did not spare his own Son, he will surely give us all things we need.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalms 23:1 (KJV)
With the Lord as shepherd, the psalmist says simply that he shall not want.
For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.
Isaiah 30:15 (KJV)
In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.
Worry often grows from trying to carry tomorrow’s problems today. Jesus’ answer in Matthew 6:31-33 is to seek God’s kingdom first and trust the Father who already knows what we need. That does not mean ignoring responsibilities; it means doing what is ours to do and leaving the outcome with God.
A simple practice is to keep a worry list for a week. Next to each item, write a verse from this page, such as Philippians 4:19 for money concerns or Psalms 127:2 when worry keeps you awake. Then pray over the list and mark what God has done as time passes. Looking back can build confidence for the next worry.
Guarding your thoughts helps too. Philippians 4:8 invites you to dwell on what is true, lovely and of good report. When a worrying thought replays, gently redirect it to a promise, and if worry becomes constant or affects your health, talking with a counselor or doctor is a wise step.
Matthew 6:34 works well prayed by naming today’s specific worry only, deliberately setting aside tomorrow’s concerns rather than trying to resolve everything at once.
Readers of this page often go on to Bible Verses About Overcoming Fear or Bible Verses About Patience.
The verses on this page come from the King James Version; the complete text is freely available at Blue Letter Bible.
You might also turn to Bible Verses For Communion and Bible Verses For Success.
Two nearby collections worth opening next are Bible Verses For Courage and Strength and Bible Verses For Prayer and Forgiveness.
This subject overlaps with Bible Verses For Family Unity and with Bible Verses For True Love.
If you want to keep reading, Bible Verses For Stress and Bible Verses About Stress sit close to this topic.
To see how other translations render these lines, look them up on Bible Gateway.
To trace a verse through the rest of Scripture, the cross-references on Bible Hub are useful.
Return to this verse each time a new worry surfaces, taking it one day and one concern at a time.
These verses were never meant to sit on a page as decoration \u2014 they’re meant to shape how you actually respond the next time a problem you can’t control keeps taking up space in your head.
You don’t need polished or formal language for it \u2014 an honest, plainly worded sentence is enough, something as simple as telling God directly for the ability to set it down, even temporarily.
A widow during a severe famine told Elijah she had only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruse, and was gathering sticks to prepare one final meal for herself and her son before they expected to die of starvation. Elijah asked her to make him a small cake first and promised that her barrel of meal would not waste, nor her cruse of oil fail, until the drought ended. Bible verses for worry rarely picture someone this close to running out completely, with no backup plan and no savings left at all.
The widow obeyed despite having every reason to worry about her own son’s survival, and the meal and oil lasted for many days exactly as promised, feeding her entire household. These bible verses for worry show that provision can stretch further than a worried mind believes is even possible.
God provided fresh manna every single morning in the wilderness, with clear instructions to gather only enough for that one day, since anything hoarded overnight would breed worms and spoil by morning. Despite this daily provision, some people still tried to keep extra out of worry that tomorrow’s supply might not actually come. Bible verses for worry include this practical lesson about hoarding out of fear rather than trusting a provision that had already proven reliable every previous morning.
The stored, hoarded manna rotted exactly as warned, while the manna gathered fresh each day continued arriving for forty full years in the wilderness. These bible verses for worry show that trying to secure tomorrow through today’s worry can spoil the very thing you were trying to protect.
A wealthy farmer had such an abundant harvest that his existing barns could not hold it all, so he decided to tear them down and build bigger ones, planning to finally rest, eat, drink and be merry for many years to come. That same night God told him his soul would be required of him, and everything he had stored up would belong to someone else entirely. Bible verses for worry include this warning parable about a man who tried to secure his future entirely through accumulation rather than trust.
Jesus told this story specifically in response to a man worried about his inheritance, warning that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. These bible verses for worry show that building bigger barns cannot actually resolve the deeper worry underneath the desire for more.
With Pharaoh’s army closing in from behind and the Red Sea blocking every way forward, the Israelites panicked and told Moses it would have been better to stay enslaved in Egypt than to die in the wilderness. Moses told the terrified crowd to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He would show them that very day. Bible verses for worry include this moment of complete, trapped panic, with no visible way out on either side of the crowd.
God parted the sea that same night, and Israel walked through on dry ground while their worry had offered no actual solution of its own. These bible verses for worry show that the way out is not always visible at the exact moment worry feels most justified and overwhelming.
Lord, like the widow with her last handful of meal, the Israelites tempted to hoard their manna, and the crowd trapped at the Red Sea, help me trust You with today’s provision instead of trying to secure tomorrow on my own.
Thank You for these bible verses for worry that do not ask me to pretend my concerns are not real, only to bring them honestly to You one day at a time. Stretch what feels too small the way You stretched that widow’s oil. In Jesus’ name, amen.
These seven passages move between a starving widow, a hoarding wilderness camp, a foolish farmer, and a trapped and panicking crowd.
Notice that the widow worried about today, Israel about tomorrow, the rich fool about many future years, and the crowd at the sea about the very next few minutes. Bible verses for worry cover every one of these timeframes, because worry rarely stays confined to just one of them.
These questions work best answered honestly, the way the widow honestly told Elijah exactly how little she actually had left.
Consider writing down your honest answer to just one of these four questions before moving on with the rest of your day.
Many people assume bible verses for worry mean that planning ahead or saving for the future shows a lack of trust in God. Yet the widow still made the cake as instructed, and Israel was still told to gather a double portion before the Sabbath.
The problem in these stories was never planning itself; it was hoarding driven by fear rather than following what God had actually instructed for that day. These bible verses for worry distinguish between wise preparation and anxious hoarding, which can look similar on the outside but come from very different places entirely.
The widow’s oil lasted exactly as long as the famine did, no longer and no shorter, and Israel’s manna arrived fresh every single morning for forty years without ever once failing to appear on schedule.
If your own current worry centers on not having enough for tomorrow, these bible verses for worry were written about people who also could not see past today’s portion, yet were provided for anyway, one ordinary day at a time, without any long-range guarantee shown to them in advance.
Before assuming the worst about tomorrow’s finances or needs, try listing only what you actually need for today, the way both the widow’s cake and Israel’s manna were sized for a single day at a time.
Keep one of these bible verses for worry somewhere you will read it during the part of your day when financial or practical worry tends to rise, whether that is opening the mail, checking an account balance, or lying awake at night unable to sleep.
Whether your worry looks more like the widow’s last handful of meal, the rich fool’s bigger barns, or Israel’s panic at the Red Sea, these bible verses for worry are meant to be returned to every time worry rises again, not read only once.
For more encouragement, see Bible Verses About Worry and Bible Verses For Peace and Worry.
Jeremiah preached to a Judah that kept glancing toward Egypt every time Babylon grew louder. Just before the tree picture, he warns about people who make flesh their arm. Then comes the other portrait: “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8). Look at what the tree does not do. It does not forecast the weather. It does not lose sleep in August.
The real work happens where nobody checks, under the soil. Worry is a habit of staring at the sky; roots are the opposite habit, slow and unglamorous. Think of a man who reads one psalm at the same hour each morning before he touches his phone, or a mother who prays at the sink while the kettle heats. Nothing about that looks dramatic. Yet the verse says the leaf stays green, and not because the heat was cancelled. The water simply sits deeper than the weather does.
One honest caution. Notice that a “year of drought” is assumed in the text. Jeremiah never promises that dry seasons skip the trusting person. The promise is about what keeps happening inside the tree while the ground cracks. And the old word “careful” in the KJV means full of care, anxious, which is exactly the thing the tree is said to avoid. If your own dry season is long, you can plant roots today even if rain is still a while off.
Luke records Jesus asking a question that sounds almost too plain: “And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?” (Luke 12:25). A cubit is roughly the length from elbow to fingertip. Nobody in the crowd that day was trying to grow a foot taller by fretting, and that was the point. He was holding up something every listener already knew, that worry has never once added a single measurable inch to a life.
Then he sends them outdoors in their minds. Look at the ravens, he says, and look at the lilies. Galilee in spring is covered with wildflowers that appear on rocky hillsides nobody planted, bloom for a few weeks, and are cut for the cooking fire. Jesus is not telling his hearers to stop sowing and harvesting, since ravens still have to fly out and find food. He is loosening a grip. If the Father keeps handling the lesser creatures well, a person made in his image has reason to loosen the fist around tomorrow.
Try this the next time a spiral starts. Step outside for ten minutes with no phone. Find one living thing that is doing nothing impressive, a weed in a sidewalk crack will do, and just watch it. Then read Luke 12:22-28 slowly, out loud. It will not solve the bill on the counter. What it can do is shrink the problem to its true size, and from there you can ask what the next small, sensible step is.
Some worry arrives only in the later years. The body slows, a spouse is gone, children live three states away, and the savings account is watched like a sick child. Isaiah 46:4 was spoken to people who knew about carrying heavy things. Earlier in the chapter Babylon’s gods are loaded onto animals and hauled away, burdens for the weary beasts. Then God says the reverse about himself: “And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
Read the grammar of it. Four verbs, all in the future, all with God as the one doing them. Carry. Bear. Deliver. The people of Israel were not being asked to be strong for a few more years. They were being told that the Maker does not retire and does not drop what he picked up. I once sat with a woman in her late eighties who kept a copy of this verse taped inside a kitchen cabinet door. She said she read it whenever she reached for a cup, which was ten times a day.
If you are the one worrying about an aging parent, the verse speaks to you too. You are not the only one carrying. That does not excuse you from showing up, making the calls, and sitting through the long appointments. It simply means the weight is shared, and a God who carries gray-haired people is already at work in rooms you will never see.
There is a short line in the middle of a psalm about building houses that speaks to the lying-awake kind of worry. “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). The psalm is tied to Solomon, a man with plenty of reasons to stay up at night. And yet the verse names hard work without sneering at it. What it calls empty is the anxious extra shift, the one done with a clenched jaw.
“The bread of sorrows” is a hard phrase. Picture someone eating at midnight at a table covered with papers, chewing without tasting. That is bread you ate with a heavy heart, bread you did not receive as a gift. The Hebrew idea behind “sorrows” is closer to toil and aching effort. The psalm puts beside it a different picture, a beloved child asleep, because a parent is awake and watching.
Now the practical side. Sleep is not a spiritual prize for the calm. If you lie awake week after week, or your heart races at night, please talk with a doctor, because the body sometimes needs care that prayer alone does not replace. But on an ordinary hard night, you can try something small. Write tomorrow’s three tasks on a card, set it by the bed, say Psalm 127:2 aloud, and tell God that the rest of the list belongs to him until morning. Then put your head down.
Other collections you may find useful: Bible Verses For Peace and Worry, Bible Verses About Peace and Worry, Bible Verses About Worry, Bible Verses About Faith and Bible Verses About Hope.
To study these verses in more depth, try Bible Gateway, Bible Hub and Bible Study Tools.
Worry often grows from trying to carry tomorrow's problems today. Jesus' answer in Matthew 6:31-33 is to seek God's kingdom first and trust the Father who already knows what we need.
This page brings together 10 King James Version references about worry, drawn from 7 different books of the Bible.
Yes, the verses referenced on this page, including Matthew 6:31, are quoted according to the King James Version (KJV), and are suitable for daily reading, memorization, or devotional use.
Beyond the references highlighted on this page, worry appears throughout Scripture in books such as Matthew, Philippians, Psalms, 1 Kings, Exodus; this collection focuses on some of the clearest examples.
These worry verses are drawn from books including Matthew, Philippians, Psalms, 1 Kings, Exodus, among others.
