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Finding Comfort in the Stories of Bible Characters Who Struggled With Anxiety – Viral Believer
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Finding Comfort in the Stories of Bible Characters Who Struggled With Anxiety

You’ve likely heard stories of great heroes and heroines of faith who seemed to face every trial with supernatural courage and trust in God. Yet in reading Scripture, we also find stories of those who struggled deeply with fear, worry and anxiety in the face of hardships.

Even biblical giants like Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah and Paul at times felt overwhelmed and anxious, crying out to God for help. But ultimately, they chose to trust in the Lord despite their fears.

Their stories can encourage us when we feel anxious or afraid in our own lives. We can find hope knowing we worship a compassionate God who hears our cries and promises to give us His perfect peace when we lean into Him.

Key Takeaways:

  • Even biblical heroes like Moses, David, Elijah and others battled real anxiety, fear and distress when facing trials
  • Their honest prayers cry out to God for help in the midst of feeling terrified, overwhelmed or depressed
  • Yet ultimately, they chose to cling to faith in God’s sovereign care rather than spiraling further into anxiety
  • Their stories show us we can be honest with God about our real feelings while still choosing to trust in His goodness
  • We worship a compassionate Father who hears our anxious cries and promises to give us His perfect peace

As we look at the stories of Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah and Paul, we’ll see times they felt genuine anxiety and distress. Yet they provide beautiful models of crying out honestly to God while still choosing faith over fear. May their examples encourage us!

Bible Characters Who Struggled With Anxiety

Moses: Anxiety in Leading Israel

Growing up a prince in Egypt, Moses ultimately flees the kingdom after killing an Egyptian slave master (Exodus 2:11-15). God then calls Moses from a burning bush to go back and confront Pharaoh, demanding he let God’s people go (Exodus 3).

But Moses feels wholly unqualified and deeply anxious about this calling:

Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent…I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth?… Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” (Exodus 4:10-13 NKJV)

God assures Moses He will help him speak well before Pharaoh. But Moses continues to feel afraid and anxious, even asking God simply to kill him rather than face this terrifying mission (Exodus 4:13)!

Yet ultimately Moses chooses to obey God’s call. And God fulfills His promise to guide Moses powerfully before Egypt’s rulers.

In your own times of anxiety about God’s calling on your life, remember He promises to equip those He calls. Like Moses, tell God honestly when you feel afraid or unprepared. But ultimately choose faith over fear, trusting the Lord to guide you each step of the way.

David: Anxiety in Waiting on God’s Promises

As a young shepherd, David steps out in courageous faith to face the terrifying giant Goliath. He boldly declares his confidence that God will conquer this foe (1 Samuel 17). From there, David faithfully serves King Saul even as the jealous king later seeks multiple times to kill him.

Yet in seasons of waiting on God’s promise that he would indeed become king one day, David struggled profoundly with fear and depression:

My heart is severely pained within me…My eyes are wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. (Psalm 31:9-10 NKJV)

Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5 NKJV)

David’s honest prayers echo his genuine feelings of deep anguish as he faced oppression while awaiting the fulfillment of God’s promises. The psalms show us David’s real battle against anxiety and fear.

Yet, David ultimately chose to “Put your hope in God”—declaring his choice to trust God would deliver him and fulfill His word, even when his feelings temporarily overwhelmed him.

When you wait anxiously for God’s promises in your life, follow David’s model. Tell God exactly how you feel, take those feelings to Him! But ultimately choose to hope in the Lord’s faithfulness, even in the waiting.

Speak out loud your trust in His word and promises for your life even over your temporary feelings of anxiety. Just as God strengthened David’s faith over time, He will strengthen yours as well if you rely on Him!

Elijah: Anxiety in Spiritual Warfare

The bold prophet Elijah steps out in mighty faith, calling down fire from heaven against the prophets of false gods (1 Kings 18:36-39 NIV). Soon after this Mount Carmel showdown though, Elijah finds himself fleeing for his life from Jezebel’s threats, feeling utterly terrified and alone:

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life… He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19:3-4 NIV)

Even after a miraculous victory, spiritual attacks and threats overwhelmed Elijah, plummeting him into desperate anxiety at one point. Yet God meets him in compassion there, ministering to Elijah’s fears.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” (1 Kings 19:5-8 NIV)

Take comfort that God doesn’t rebuke Elijah for his honest cries of distress. Our compassionate Father ministered gently to Elijah until the prophet’s strength returned.

If you face anxiety even in times of spiritual victory, know God sees your weariness with compassion as well. Be honest in telling Him your fears while also trusting Him to strengthen and uphold you powerfully.

Take time to be still in His presence, drink deeply from Scripture, and accept comfort from caring believers until your courage returns.

As Elijah learned, resting in God’s presence renews spiritual strength to keep fighting!

Jeremiah: Anxiety Facing Opposition

Jeremiah boldly pronounces God’s word to Judah, calling God’s people to turn from their sinful rebellion against the Lord. Yet Jeremiah suffers fierce opposition, false accusations, death threats and persecution for speaking truth:

I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.” (Jeremiah 20:10 NIV)

Outwardly accused as a traitor, Jeremiah struggles deeply with inner emotional turmoil over the persecution he’s suffering:

Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! I curse the messenger who told my father, “A child is born to you—a son!”… Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame? (Jeremiah 20:14,18 NIV)

Jeremiah responds to intense anxiety and oppression by honestly pouring out His despair and pain to God. Yet even in his inner anguish, Jeremiah ultimately declares his choice to trust God’s sovereignty and goodness:

Sing to the Lord! Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. (Jeremiah 20:13 NIV)

When you face anxiety in times of hardship and persecution, follow Jeremiah’s model of bringing your genuine feelings of fear and despair to God. Like Jeremiah, ask God to vindicate and deliver you according to His justice and mercy.

But even in distress, through prayer and praise make the choice to trust that the Lord will sustain you and work all things for your ultimate good.

Paul: Anxiety in Ministry and Suffering

The apostle Paul faces incredible persecution for preaching the gospel—beatings, stoning, imprisonment, shipwrecks and more (2 Corinthians 6:4-5)! While miraculously surviving mortal threats, Paul is transparent about the mental toll such suffering took:

We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9 ESV)

Paul admits at times he felt such profound emotional anxiety from the trauma of persecution that he despaired even of living—completely relying on God’s supernatural grace to deliver him from death. Yet in the midst of such mental suffering, Paul continually chose faith over fear, saying:

For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:9 ESV)

If your ministry and spiritual warfare against darkness ever overwhelm you with anxiety, know that even the apostle Paul faced such battles! Bring your honest cries for help to the Lord, asking Him for deliverance.

But also let pressures drive you to deeper trust in God’s resurrection power to raise you up when anxieties threaten to crush you down. Like Paul, allow suffering to strengthen your faith muscles so you learn supernatural reliance on the Lord.

Overcoming Anxiety Through Faith in God

In exploring the journeys of Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah and Paul we’ve seen transparent accounts of times these great biblical heroes genuinely struggled with feeling anxious, afraid, overwhelmed and even depressed by the challenges they faced at times. Their stories offer us deep comfort and hope!

Even these giants of faith battled times of severe emotional turmoil when hardships and trials tested their courage and trust in extreme ways. Yet ultimately, they provide beautiful models of crying out honestly to God for help while still choosing to cling to faith in God over spiraling further into fear and despair.

Through their prayers, praise and testimony in Scripture, we hear them declaring profound trust in God’s goodness and deliverance — even if they did not yet see or feel God’s promised victory and deliverance manifested in the midst of hardship trying their faith!

May the transparency and journey of these biblical heroes encourage you in your own battles with anxiety and fear. You worship the same powerful, merciful and compassionate God they did! He hears and understands your honest cries for help.

He knows the burdens you carry that tempt you to be overwhelmed. And He promises the same peace and strength to you as He did these faithful saints of old if you continually choose faith through prayer and praise.

The Lord upholds all who are anxious or afraid. He’s close to the brokenhearted. He rescues those who cry out to Him (Psalm 34:17-18). You can trust Him to do the same for you!

Pastor Duke Taber
Pastor Duke Taber

Pastor Duke Taber

All articles have been written or reviewed by Pastor Duke Taber.
Pastor Duke Taber is an alumnus of Life Pacific University and Multnomah Biblical Seminary.
He has been in pastoral ministry since 1988.
Today he is the owner and managing editor of 3 successful Christian websites that support missionaries around the world.
He is currently starting a brand new church in Mesquite NV called Mesquite Worship Center, a Non-Denominational Spirit Filled Christian church in Mesquite Nevada.