The Sin of Anxiety

He cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

When we tell someone, “Don’t be anxious,” we’re simply trying to encourage or admonish that person in a helpful way. But when God in His Word tells us, “Don’t be anxious,” it has the force of a moral command. It’s His moral will that we not be anxious. Or to say it more explicitly, anxiety is sin. Anxiety is sin for two reasons. First, it’s a distrust of God. In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus said that if our heavenly Father takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, will He not much more take care of our temporal needs? When I give way to anxiety, I’m in effect believing that God won’t take care of me. Anxiety is also a lack of acceptance of God’s providence—His orchestrating all circumstances and events in His universe for His glory and the good of His people. Some believers have difficulty accepting the fact that God does in fact do this, and even those who believe this glorious truth often lose sight of it. Instead we focus on immediate causes of our anxiety rather than remembering that those causes are under God’s control. Anxiety is one of my most persistent temptations. If you’re frequently tempted to anxiety as I am, can you recognize the types of circumstances that tend to make you anxious? Do you identify with me in chafing under God’s providential will for you when it differs from your own agenda? If so, I encourage you to ask God to give you faith to believe that His providential will for you in these circumstances flows from His infinite wisdom and goodness and is ultimately intended for your good. Ask Him to give you a heart that is submissive to His providential will.