What Does the Bible Say About Anxiety?

Anxiety is that tight feeling in your chest when the future feels uncertain. It is defined as “worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. It can also be described as a feeling of fear, dread,  and uneasiness, often characterized by a future-oriented, excessive, and uncontrollable worry about potential threats.

In the description of anxiety, there are two important characteristics that I want to focus on a little. These two characteristics are “worry” and “fear”. So, as we try to understand the position of God on anxiety, we will also be looking at what the Bible says about worry and fear.

Anxiety can make you feel like you are carrying the world alone. It whispers that you must solve everything yourself and at a stated time. And when you cannot, it makes you feel like you have failed.

Is Anxiety a Sin According to the Bible?

Anxiety is something we have all felt at some point in time, in varying degrees and complexity. And even being in a close relationship with God, you are still not immune to anxiety. At times of anxiety, your faith is tested, and your trust in God is put through the fire. And I would like to say that neither anxiety, fear, nor worry has been labelled as a sin in the Bible.

Although anxiety, fear, and worry have their negative effects on our faith, they in themselves do not constitute a sin. They may lead to sin, they may affect one’s physical health and damage the body, but they are not regarded as a sin in the Bible.

So, when you panic over bills that are not paid, or your health that is falling, or your children that are not doing well, or your marriage that is failing, or where the next meal is coming from, what is happening is that you are getting anxious. Getting concerned over things like this is not a sin, but it attacks your faith, encourages fear, and can make you sin eventually if not checked.

What the Bible Says About Anxiety

Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

The scripture above is what the Bible tells us about anxiety. In my own words, I hear Paul saying in this scripture that you should not panic concerning anything. This does not mean there won’t be situations that will make you panic, but your knowledge of Christ should boost your faith that you have peace, the peace of God.

In 2 Timothy 1:7, it says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”. In this scripture, Paul is encouraging us not to be afraid of anything. Fear is not of God; it does not solve any problem, and it does not produce any benefit.  

Note that the fact that the scripture encourages us not to be afraid of anything does not translate to living carelessly and dangerously in the name of having faith. If you are sick, you are still encouraged to see a doctor and live a healthy life. Staying idle, without working, and having faith alone will lead to poverty. Deuteronomy 6:16 and Mathew 4:7 remind us not to tempt the Lord.

How to Overcome Anxiety Biblically

We have learned that the Bible says we should not be anxious and that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the reality still stands in the fact that things that make us anxious exist. The reality is still that the bills are piling up, the marriage is shaking, the health is failing, and the testing of our faith is real. So, how do we reconcile our reality with what the scripture is saying?

In Philippians 4:19, Paul said, “And God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”. If God is telling you not to panic or be anxious, it is because He already has you covered. The heaven and the earth and all that is in them belong to God, so if He tells you not to panic, it is because He has what is required to meet your needs within His reach. And He makes these resources available to you at the exact time when you need them.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.” And 2 Corinthians 9:8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work”.

The two scriptures above are just so profound. It is not just that God will meet your needs; He will exceed them. As a matter of fact, as long as you remain in Him, if you can think a thing and you ask, you will receive. God supplies what aligns with His will and His purpose for you — and He does so abundantly. So, when God says, " You should not be anxious about anything, it’s because there is an abundance of resources to establish that which He has declared.

What Jesus Taught About Worry

The teachings of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-34 are worth discussing before concluding this blog. Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on”. In this teaching, Jesus says, " Your life is worth more than food, and your body more than clothes”. And this is Jesus teaching us to prioritize the order of things in our lives.

He gave examples of the birds and flowers that neither sow nor reap, yet they are well taken care of by God. But the deep thought for me in this scripture is when Jesus highlights that worry adds nothing of value to our lives. It does not add to our quality of life, nor does it solve any problem. If Jesus sees it so, then we should also.

Practical Ways to Fight Anxiety with Faith

So, when you ask, “What does the bible say about anxiety”? We have looked at this from three different standpoints: anxiety, fear, and worry. And for all three, the Bible does not deny that they exist; it teaches us how to respond to them because they drain your faith and leave you worse off.

But Jesus gave us the right solution to our concerns. He says to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to us. And Paul gave us a similar solution, he says, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  

It can be tough when we are faced with situations that test our faith, and not be anxious, worry, or be afraid. But if God has pulled through for you once, you can be sure He’ll pull through for you again. One good approach is to keep a portfolio record of your blessings. As long as you are a true child of God, if He did it for you before, He will do it again. God never fails.

Anxiety may visit you. But it does not have permission to stay. Not when you know the God who holds tomorrow.