As I’m sitting on the couch of my therapist's office, a place that usually brings comfort and calm, I catch a glimpse of my Bible and wonder, is anxiety a sin? I make a mental note of my question as I continue listening to the tools and tactics being provided by the expert I’m paying. After a successful session, I head home to research anxiety and faith, knowing my heart and mind need an answer to this complex question swirling in my brain. I’ve struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember and have been a faithful and God-believing soul for just as long, but I’ve never once stopped to contemplate if anxiety is a sin until today.
I gather both my Bible and my notes from therapy and sit to educate and inform myself on this topic. I don’t want to know what the world says about the anxiety that I’m sometimes immobilized by and constantly working to conquer. I want to know what the Lord says about the troubles I’m facing and the anxiety that I feel I’ve been created with.
With intentionality, focus, and an open mind for biblical truth, I start reading. What I find is more hopeful and helpful than I could have imagined.
The Bible discusses sin as something people choose, either to do or not to do— both come from choice. Anxiety is a human struggle, not a revolt against God. I do not wake up and choose to be filled with anxiety, yet I often am. Identifying the cause of my anxiety has helped manage it, but it has not eradicated it. While I do not choose anxiety, I do choose God each and every day.
“But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” - James 1:14-15
This scripture highlights that sin originates from personal choices and personal desires, not from things that are outside of human control. For some, anxiety is outside of human control. It is chemistry, not choice. Jesus even acknowledges anxiety, not as a choice, not as a moral failing, but as a natural human experience. Scripture from Peter & Matthew provides evidence of this, as well as the care and compassion given to those facing anxiety.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” - 1 Peter 5:7
“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”- Matthew 6:27
I’m not a doctor, but in asking mine, they’ve said time and time again that anxiety is not a choice. It is a combination of complex factors of genetics, brain chemistry, and life experiences. Knowing this fact is crucial for understanding as it relates to faith and sin. In the Bible, Jesus not only acknowledges anxiety as a natural human experience, but he provides grace-filled resolutions to move beyond it.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of god, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7
This verse first acknowledges anxiousness and then encourages us to bring our worries to God in prayer. It provides sinless responses and coping mechanisms for anxiety. The problem in theology and scripture with sin and anxiety isn’t in the anxiety itself but in the reaction and response to the anxiety, which can be sin. Anxiety and anxiety's responses are different discussions, different pieces of human experience to critique and analyze. It’s also important to observe and recognize that worry and anxiety are not created equal. They are not the same thing. Oftentimes, people assume they are a synonym for one another. They are not. Worry is temporary. Anxiety is not. Scripture allows for anxiety to be experienced outside of sin. The sin comes when we allow our thoughts to shape our trust in God. Anxiety is not a trust issue.
Jesus understands anxiety. He knew suffering, emotional distress, and extreme anguish more than anyone, and he was sinless. His time in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion is an example of his involuntary human emotion. Matthew 26:38 – “Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’” While his experience is nothing in comparison to ours, he acknowledged his anxiousness and called on those around him to stay and bear witness.
“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Luke 22:44
He didn’t condemn anxiety or even tie shame to it, instead, he modeled how to respond to it, through prayer and leaning on God.
“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
Jesus doesn’t say that we shouldn’t feel troubled. Instead, he tells us the solution is peace. He provides resolutions and responses for the human experiences he knows life will create.
The Bible never explicitly states that anxiety is a sin, but it does consistently state that God’s grace is unconditional. We are blessed with a grace-giving God that meets us in our struggles– anxiety included. To those who are anxious, God’s response is not condemnation. His response is grace and love. In all of our human imperfections, God’s grace is sufficient and abundant.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9
While I find hope in scripture and the Lord’s truth, I also know that this simple knowing will not eliminate anxiety from my life. I know that eventually and unexpectedly, it will rise again. The relief comes in reminding myself that when anxiety comes, I’m sheltered by a faith that gives me resources more sacred than the ones I pay for in the seat of a therapist. Comfort and peace come during anxiety by trusting God and giving myself grace for the times my body’s response is one of anxiety. It’s meditating on Matthew 6:34-
“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.”
It’s reminding myself to stay in the present, in the right now, and actively choosing God’s peace, because it’s there, always– waiting for me.
What a gracious God we have, one that offers compassion, peace, and grace to individuals with anxiety. A God that reminds us we are not less faithful or less worthy because of anxiety. A God that sees us, anxiety and imperfections included and promises to walk it with us.
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