The Sin of Anxiety

THE SIN OF ANXIETY

"He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Ok ... so it must be ME that needs to get this anxiety thing! I opened my devotional readings again for today and got hammered yet again. Not only am I to be anxious for NOTHING ... absolutely NOTHING ... but I was reminded again this morning that my anxiety is SIN!

Dr. Jerrry Bridges in his devotional book, HOLINESS -- TRANSFORMATIONAL THOUGHTS FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY (NAVPRESS) writes:

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 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 all His people. Some believers have difficulty accepting the fact that God does in fact do this, even those who believe this glorious truth often lose sight of it. Instead we focus on the immediate causes of our anxiety rather than remembering that those causes are under God's control.

Anxiety is one of my 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 His glory and your good. Ask Him to give you a heart that is submissive to His providential will.

Wow! I want to be "more than a conqueror" in this area of my life. Thanks, Lord, for this reminder. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

DIGGING DEEPER: Proverbs 12; Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:26-50

DIG THIS QUOTE: His words are as true as His own existence. He is unchangeable. He has never had to alter one saying or call back a single sentence. – Charles Haddon Spurgeon

DETERMINED DIGGING: Level 1 --Psalm 19:14; Level 2 -- Psalm 27:1-6