An Untroubled Heart: Calming Anxiety and Finding God's Peace

by Kara Stout

Begin your day in God's comforting presence and end your day in His calming embrace. This unique 30-day devotional reminds you that God is greater than your troubled heart and more present than your anxious thoughts.

Whether you are stressed in the morning about the day ahead or desperate to calm your mind in the evening before bed, peace often feels elusive—and sometimes God does too. But even in the midst of life's uncertainties, God is ever present and ready to offer His comfort, if only you seek Him.

In An Untroubled Heart, author Kara Stout offers 30 morning devotions to carry you through the day and 30 companion evening devotions to settle your heart at night. Let your soul breathe in peace as you…

Bookend your day with bite-sized reflections and prayers that meet you where you are.Grow in your relationship with God and build a habit of coming to Him in prayer.Realize you are not alone in your feelings of worry and overwhelm.Strengthen your faith day by day as you immerse yourself in God's truth. 

The deep peace you crave is available, no matter what your anxious thoughts are telling you. Come experience the truth of Scripture, the comfort of the Spirit, and the kind of rest that only a good and perfect Father can give.

Genres: Spirituality, Christian

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 29, 2025

Reviews

[Sherry Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

You cannot read and look through this heartfelt book without it touching your heart and soul. Amazingly beautiful!

[Stephanie’s Ninth Suitcase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scripture Connection
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
John 14:27

Spiritual Themes
Written as an antidote to anxiety, An Untroubled Heart invites readers to rest in, trust in, and embrace, the nearness and sovereignty of Jesus. Through the 30 day devotional, readers are invited to hold fast to the truth of Scripture. We’re invited to call to mind the ways that Jesus safeguards us, demonstrates His intimate care for us, and meets us in our weakness.

Structure / Format
Each daily devotion includes two portions, offering readers the opportunity to seek the Lord in the morning and to rest in Him as the day wanes.

Portions begin with a key verse, followed by discussion of the Scripture — often including additional Bible verses that reiterate the same message. Some passages also include Stout’s personal narration, including accounts from her marriage and adoption experiences. Each morning and evening segment concludes with a prayer.

Devotionals are grouped into sections based on overarching Scriptural passages that align with one or more daily themes. For instance, days 20 and 21 focus on Luke 12:27: “Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.” These devotionals emphasize God’s provision and care. Days 14 and 15 are about itemizing our cares as we hand them over to Him and receiving His love, based on Psalm 94:19: “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comfort delights my soul.”

What I Liked
As someone who has experienced a fair share of anxiety, I appreciate Christian titles that offer grounded, biblical truths to combat the lies that anxiety tells. I found An Untroubled Heart to be deeply refreshing in its engagement with relatable themes and feelings. Pages are truly infused with truth– such powerful reminders that our circumstances — and the way we perceive them — do not shift the Truth of God’s love and power. At this moment, between reading this book and encouragements from my mom, this is one of my most powerful takeaways: I do not have to count my fears and feelings of anxiety as truth. Instead, I am to grasp the Scriptural imperative to seek Him and to remain rooted in His truths.

I really appreciate the robust prayers at the end of each devotional. I benefit from having prayers written out, and I think this editorial decision is especially effective in a book about anxiety: Readers who experience anxiety may feel reassured and supported by the inclusion of the prayers, themselves (rather than just springboards for prayers).

The twice-daily format is also effective with the subject matter, as readers experiencing anxiety may benefit from a doubled, daily dose of truth.

Favorites
Day 3, Morning: Your Soul’s Signal for Help
What if we recognized anxiety as a signal alerting us to go to God?… The Lord is near. He has not left you on your own to deal with life’s worries and hardships.

p. 15

Day 21, Morning: Jesu Juva
In this devotional, Stout shares that renowned German composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, wrote the letters “JJ” (an abbreviation of “Jesu Juva,” or “Jesus, help”) at the start of each composition. Stout goes on to discuss the ways that we get ourselves into trouble with our determination to handle things in our own strength. “Much of our stress comes from living in this place,” she writes. “As you begin each task within a day, ask Jesus to help you again” (p. 131).

The morning’s prayer is a simple one: “Jesus, help me.”

Content Notes
Possible trigger for mentions of fertility challenges.

Recommendation Status
Ultimately, regardless of our circumstances, our Jesus is the answer. Stout’s 30 daily devotions continually call readers back to the soul-satisfying truths of Scripture, offering a beautiful antidote to our culture of worry.

Highly recommended as a breath of fresh air for women in their early twenties and onward.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher. Opinions expressed are my own.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of morning and evening devotionals, written for an audience of women. Kara Stout shares a Bible verse at the beginning of each reading, and then there's about a page and a half of reflection. At the end of each reading, she includes a prayer. If someone reads the morning and evening devotionals each day, this will last for thirty days. However, even though the morning and evening readings sometimes build on each other, they aren't so connected that someone has to read them in the same day to fully benefit from them and appreciate the message. This is the kind of book that someone can dip into for encouragement when they are going through a hard time, even if they don't have a consistent reading schedule.

Kara Stout shares personal reflections in many of the devotions, writing about ways that some difficult life experiences have deepened her understanding of God's faithfulness and ever-present care. Women who have also struggled with infertility, or with losing parents to terminal illness, will find this book especially meaningful. However, this book primarily focuses on unpacking truths from the Bible, not on stories about the author. Her heartfelt reflections can benefit any Christian woman who is going through suffering, regardless of the particulars of that woman's circumstances.

An Untroubled Heart: Calming Anxiety and Finding God's Peace is an uplifting devotional, and it is also an attractive gift book. It is a sturdy hardcover with high-quality paper, and I enjoyed the floral artwork on some of the pages. This would make a nice gift for someone who is going through a hard time. The Bible verses and reflections in this book are very encouraging, and they speak to both intense seasons of suffering and everyday life stress, encouraging women to fix their eyes on God and experience His peace.

I received a free copy from the publisher, and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

[Baraka May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this devotional for my 7 yr old daughter and was blown away by my first experience reading it to her. She was feeling anxious about something before bed, and I asked her if I could read an evening devotional to her. She cuddled up to me, still breathing heavily, and as I began reading, her breathing noticeably slowed and calmed. Her body melted into me, and her eyes became heavy. When I finished, she looked up and said “mommy, can you read it again?” I couldn’t believe the difference! I read it again to her, and she asked “mommy, can you read another one?”

What a gift these words are. Kara’s writing is calming, wise, loving, and gentle. Watching my daughter’s night and day response, I was reminded of the power of wise words over an anxious heart. 🩷

[Natalija Elijas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Untroubled Heart is a very special devotional. Not only does it have readings for every morning, but also for each evening. The readings are short, but very encouraging. There is enough Scripture, but also woven through are personal stories that illustrate the Biblical truth in a special way. The illustrations are beautiful, the writing easy to read, the verses thoughtfully chosen. I will definitely come back to this devotional in the future and am contemplating to purchase a printed version to share with my daughters.

I was given a free ebook copy for review by NetGalley.