If you are the parent of a school aged child, you likely have some anxiety about the upcoming school year. Some families may be eagerly anticipating school reopening; other families may feel uncertain about the effect school reopening may have on their and other’s health. Many families likely feel stretched to accommodate remote and hybrid learning — particularly in the context of working parents. There are many, well-founded reasons for concern and anxiety, but one Lord who seeks to direct our paths and draw near to us.
Rather than focusing on fear, consider looking for concrete ways to place your trust in Jesus. One way to guard your heart against anxieties is to immerse yourself in truth. Below is a list of scripture verses that answer anxiety with trust and truth. When you find a verse that resonates with you, write it on a note card and post it in your home or office. Reread it often; share it with your family; incorporate it into family prayer. Challenge yourself to memorize the verse and claim it as your own. When anxieties cloud your mind and heart, cling to the truth in your verses!
Anxiety-Answering Scripture
Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Isa 41:10
In God I trust, I do not fear. What can man do to me?
Ps 56:12
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
Jn 14:27
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.
2 Tim 1:7
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.
1 Jn 4:18
When I say, “My foot is slipping,” your mercy, LORD, holds me up. When cares increase within me, your comfort gives me joy.
Ps 94:18-19
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through waters, I will be with you; through rivers, you shall not be swept away. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, nor will flames consume you. For I, the LORD, am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior.
Isa 43:1-3
Worry weighs down the heart, but a kind word gives it joy
Prv 12:25
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Ps 23:4
I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go.
Jos 1:9
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
Mt 6:33-34
Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you
1 Pt 5:7
Say to the fearful of heart: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you.
Isa 35:4
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,* nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rom 8:38-39
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?
Ps 27:1
Cast your care upon the LORD, who will give you support. He will never allow the righteous to stumble.
Ps 55:23
But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!”
Mk 6:50
Be strong and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.
Dt 31:6
For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, Do not fear, I will help you.
Isa 41:13
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Thus we do not fear, though earth be shaken and mountains quake to the depths of the sea, Though its waters rage and foam and mountains totter at its surging.
Ps 46:2-4
The LORD is with me; I am not afraid; what can mortals do against me? The LORD is with me as my helper.
Ps 118: 6-7
Fear of others becomes a snare, but the one who trusts in the LORD is safe.
Prv 29:25
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!”* The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
Mk 4:39-40
I sought the LORD, and he answered me, delivered me from all my fears. Look to him and be radiant, and your faces may not blush for shame. This poor one cried out and the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.
Ps 34:5-7
Do not fear them, for it is the LORD, your God, who will fight for you.
Dt 3:22
Do not be afraid; just have faith.
Mk 5:36
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or about your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: they do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than birds! Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your life-span? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin. But I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them.
Lk 12:22-27
