Is Anxiety A Sin? An Honest Look at What the Bible Says About Worry, Fear, and Anxious Thoughts

If anxious thoughts swirl around in your mind like they do mine, you may be wondering “Is anxiety a sin?” I’d like to share with you what the Bible has to say on the topic and the hope that God offers our anxious minds and hearts.

One sunny spring afternoon last year my husband told me he was taking our son out to the garage with him while he worked on his car. The average mom would’ve thought nothing of this, but as a momma of a certain sweet little man who just so happens to also have ADHD and is extremely easily distracted (aka: he requires almost constant supervision), I immediately became very anxious inside.

On the outside I smiled at my husband and said “okay”, but internally I was 100% freaking out wondering how on earth my husband was going to work on his car while at the same time watch our son.

I made it about 15 minutes before my anxiety got the best of me. I was certain our son was probably half way around the block or further by this point. I finally decided to open the garage door and check on him…

And to my surprise I saw this…

Little feet sticking out from under the car. A great big smile on my son’s face. He was helping his Daddy and couldn’t have been happier!

I love watching my husband be a dad. His love for our children is so evident.

I also love the way that God so often uses my family to teach me His important truths.

Seeing the joy on my son’s face that day thoroughly warmed my heart, while simultaneously convicting me to the core. Here I was worrying (yet again) over a potential situation that was out of my control and it was all for nothing.

Is Anxiety A Sin?

We all have our weaknesses and generally like to downplay, justify, and compare our flaws to others in an effort to minimize their ugliness. So, in regards to one of my own weaknesses, one that I imagine resonates with many others … is anxiety a sin?

I believe that yes, it can be.

The Oxford Languages Dictionary describes anxiety as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.” Please know that this is the type of anxiety that I am referring to as I write this- the kind that we all experience from time to time.

(I fully acknowledge that there are anxiety disorders as a result of trauma or a chemical imbalance, and do not downplay the seriousness of these.)

I say that anxiety can be a sin because its affects can stem from two completely different origins. Our Creator specifically made our bodies with the ability to become anxious to alert us to danger. He did not, however, create our minds to fear over potential situations that are entirely out of our control.

The Christian and Anxiety

So for the Christian, is anxiety a lack of faith? Although I would prefer to downright say that anxiety is never a sin and ease my guilty conscience, I can’t. There are too many Scriptures that point to the contrary. However, I do believe that it’s important to differentiate between our anxious thoughts resulting from a lack of faith and when they are simply a biological warning that needs heeding.

For example:

1. Was my anxiety a sin when I became gripped with fear upon hearing an intruder in our home in the middle of the night and my children were out of my reach? ABSOLUTELY NOT. It was a natural response of alert that I needed to take action quickly.
2. Is my anxiety a sin when I mull over all of the “what if” questions regarding the protection of my children and loved ones? Yes.

Unfortunately, the latter of these two situations is where I find myself landing the majority of the time.

Sweet friend, if God specifically tells us not to do something and then we turn around and do it anyway… we are in direct disobedience to His Word, which means that yes, we are in sin.

The Truth About Anxiety

You would think that after all these years of witnessing, firsthand, God’s faithfulness I would learn to simply trust and rest in Him. Unfortunately, I am still very much a work in progress in this area.

I am grateful for His gentle rebukes. And I am grateful for how He patiently picks us back up and teaches us smack dab in the middle of our failures.

As a mom living in the 21^st century I can’t help but imagine that I’m not alone in my continual flood of anxious thoughts. So, if you find yourself struggling in this area too, please remember…

Our anxiety only reveals that God is not on the throne of our hearts. When we allow worry, fear, and anxiety to overwhelm us it is because we’ve placed ourselves (and our limited ability to protect our loved ones from unforeseen circumstances) there in God’s place.

What Does the Bible Say About Anxiety?

So what does the Bible say about anxiety? The Bible mentions fear, worry, and anxiety more than 300 times throughout its pages. Obviously, it is a subject near to God’s heart and one that He knew many of us would continually struggle with.

As a compassionate Father He understands that we are living in a broken world that often brings about fear as a result. BUT He never desires that we stay trapped in our all-consuming fearful thoughts. His words of hope can provide such peace to our anxious hearts.

Below are some Bible verses to calm anxiety.

Fear and Anxiety Scriptures- Is Anxiety A Sin?

• Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)
• Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)
• For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (1 Timothy 1:7)
• Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
• So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
• You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Related: OVERCOMING ANXIETY WITH GOD

20 SOOTHING SONGS FOR ANXIETY

What Does Jesus Say About Worrying?

Not only does the Bible, as a whole, offer direction and encouragement regarding anxiety, but Jesus Himself offers some powerful words of wisdom and comfort on the subject of worrying.  

• “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.  (Matthew 6:25-34)
• Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

Is Anxiety A Sin? Don’t Let It Steal Your Joy

Believer, I think we need to remember that fear is often a tactic of Satan. Our enemy knows that once we’ve allowed our unguarded hearts to be consumed with fear we are unfruitful and ineffective in our walk with Christ. Fear strips us of the ability to rest in the joy and hope of our Savior, but “perfect love casts out fear”.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

1 John 4:18

There is a quote by Charles Spurgeon that keeps me in line when I begin to lose my focus and allow anxiety to rear its ugly head.

“To trust God in the light, that is nothing. To trust Him in the dark. That is faith.”

Charles Spurgeon

Friend, anxiety is when we doubt God in the dark. If we’re completely honest, it’s when we panic at the realization that life is out of our control. But please see the comfort in these words.

The sobering truth is that ALL of life is out of our control, but entirely in the hands of the One who spoke it all into existence. He has proven Himself faithful time and time again. Will you take His hand and allow Him to gently lead?

When it’s all said and done I don’t believe that the question “Is anxiety a sin?” is really the one that we should be asking.  What if, instead, we asked ourselves:

Is my love for my Savior greater than all of my fears and doubts?

Am I fully resting in the love He holds for me?

Am I trusting in the promises of His Word?

A Peace That Passes Understanding

And going back to my story above… I wish that I could say I shared this specific instance regarding my son because it was an isolated incident, but the truth is that there are dozens of other stories related to my struggles with anxiety that I could have shared. I chose this one because of its twofold impact.

Not only did God teach me the importance of trusting Him that day, He also reminded me that as parents, we’re often tempted to skip time explaining things to our children. We don’t allow them to help us out of pure inconvenience.

 As all busy moms know, most every form of cleaning, organizing, creating, and fixing takes far less time if we just do it ourselves… Mommas, we’ve got to STOP doing this!

These moments with our children are so priceless and the learning opportunities and sweet memories will pass us by so quickly if we don’t seize the moment.

My husband could’ve fixed his car much more quickly that day had he not allowed my son to “help” him, but instead of saved time he gained some precious one on one time with his little man, and showed our son how much he values and loves him.

Friends, when we truly place God at the center of our lives, He will give a sweet peace. A peace that doesn’t even make sense in the midst of all the chaos.

Let’s trust Him with our children. Trust Him with our exhaustion, fear, and worry. And lay it all down at the feet of Jesus.