What does the Bible say about anxiety?

Anxiety for ourselves is one of the snares carefully shut out by our Lord from the disciples: were it even "for the morrow," it is unworthy of confidence in the Father's provident love. He knows that we have need of food and raiment, and He will surely provide. We have to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, with the assurance that all these things shall be added unto us (Matt. 6:33). So the apostle bids us in nothing to be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be made known unto God (Phil. 4:6).

"And he said to his disciples, Therefore, I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment." Observe, "take NO thought." This needs no interpretation or accommodation. Persons may say it means "anxious thought," but there is nothing about "anxious" in the passage. It is simply said, "no thought;" and that, too, in reference to all that man can really want, namely, food and raiment, in both of which the ravens and the lilies are set before us as an example; for the former are fed, and the latter are clothed, without thought. If the Lord Jesus meant "anxious thought," He would have said so. Nor is this merely true in reference to those who are only in the kingdom; it is also true as to the members of the church. "Be careful for nothing," says the Spirit by the apostle. Why? Because God is caring for you. There is no use in two thinking about the same thing, when One can do everything, and the other can do nothing. "In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall garrison (phrouresei) your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus." This is the solid foundation of peace of heart, which so few really enjoy. Many have gotten peace of conscience through faith in the sufficiency of Christ's work, who do not enjoy peace of heart through faith in the sufficiency of God's care. And often times we go to pray about our difficulties and trials, and we rise from our knees as troubled as we knelt down. We profess to put our affairs into the hands of God, but we have no notion of leaving them there; and, consequently, we do not enjoy peace of heart. Thus it was with Jacob, in Genesis 32. He asked God to deliver him from the hand of Esau; but, no sooner did he rise from his knees than he set forth the real ground of his soul's dependence, by saying, "I will appease him by a present." It is clear he had much more confidence in the "present" than in God. This is a common error amongst the children of God. We profess to be looking to the Eternal Fountain; but the eye of the soul is askance upon some creature stream. Thus God is practically shut out; our souls are not delivered, and we have not got peace of heart.

Serving God, who is indeed a heavenly Father, we come under His watchful and kindly care. He knows all our needs and concerns Himself about them. We are impotent; unable to add a cubit to our height, or to array ourselves like the grass of the field. Our Father has infinite wisdom and power, and cares for the humblest creatures of His hand: we may have absolute confidence therefore in His loving care for us. Hence we are to be free from all anxious care. The men of the world are grasping at the treasure of this world which wastes so quickly, and they are full of care as to its preservation and use. We are to be resting in our Father's care and love, and therefore free of anxiety.

"Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." That is, our Lord prepares us for this, that the anxiety which dreads an evil thing on the morrow is nothing but unbelief. When the morrow comes, the evil may not be there; if it comes, God will be there. He may allow us to taste what it is to indulge in our own wills; but if our souls are subject to Him, how often the evil that is dreaded never appears. When the heart bows to the will of God about some sorrow that we dread, how often the sorrow is taken away, and the Lord meets us with unexpected kindness and goodness. He is able to make even the sorrow to be all blessing. Whatever be His will it is good. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

(6) Finally, He gives us a limit for care, which by itself would very much exclude it. How much of the burden that we carry belongs really to the morrow, ― a burden not yet legitimately ours: for who can really tell what shall be on the morrow? Each day will have its own sufficient evil ― not too much, for a careful hand has apportioned it: but by borrowing trouble not yet come, we not only necessarily make the burden of the day too heavy, but we cannot reckon upon divine grace for that which is not come, and bear it thus so far without assistance. Nay, we have lost Him from our thoughts in all this calculation of the unknown future which is in His hands. How often has love in the most undreamed of way, disappointed all our fears!

In all this it is not taking thought for the morrow that is forbidden us, but taking care, (in the full sense of care). The word used has been claimed in these different senses by different interpreters; but it certainly is derived from one which suggests "division," and so "distraction" of heart; and this is completely in accordance with the warning about singleness of eye and divided service. Moreover, James, where he is speaking explicitly of the boasting of those who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain," corrects such a speech in this manner, that "ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that" (James 4:13, 15). He blames only the confident assurance of the speech, and not all "taking thought for the morrow." This, in fact, should be evident: the whole current of our lives would be changed by the contrary supposition, which those who make it have immediately and seriously to modify.

One may not be so greedy as to want to selfishly amass great riches, and yet may be a victim of worry and anxiety. This too is in reality opposition to the grace of God, yet even a believer often succumbs to it, for it is His disciples to whom the Lord spoke in verse 22. Parents must be concerned as to the needs of their family, and sometimes the future seems extremely bleak due to health problems, lack of employment, money shortage, lack of education etc., but the Lord encourages implicit faith rather than anxious worry. He cannot fail, though needs press heavily. The question is simply, Is the grace of God sufficient for the child of God? The Lord can be depended on to supply His saints with every necessity of life. For the life is more than the things that we think necessary to support it, and God is concerned for every aspect of life. Certainly we should work to support ourselves and our families (2 Thes.3:10), but worrying is not working.

Even the ravens, unclean birds, totally unadapted to work to store up for the future, are yet fed by God. They have no worry about providing for the future, but find provision as the need arises. It is God who provides for them. It is a pointed object lesson for us, that we should have likewise no anxiety, but simple, unfeigned faith in Him who cares for us with perfect love.

The Lord asked if we can add a cubit (18 inches) to our physical height by worrying. If our anxious thoughts cannot change even the small matters, what is the sense of anxiety in reference to anything? Worry only distresses us and often others too. It can change nothing. Why not then be calm and at peace in trusting the Lord? He has certainly always proven faithful.

But there is another ground on which we are exhorted to be free from care, and that is, the utter worthlessness of that care. "Which of you, with taking thought, can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?" We gain nothing by our care; and by indulging therein we only unfit ourselves for seeking the kingdom of God, and place a barrier, by our unbelief, in the way of His acting for us. It is always true in reference to us, "He could there do no mighty work, because of their unbelief." Unbelief is the great hindrance to the display of God's mighty works on our behalf. If we take our affairs into our own hands, it is clear that we do not want God. Thus we are left to the depressing influence of our own perplexing thoughts, and, finally, we take refuge in some human resource, and make shipwreck of faith.

Verse 28. "Besides those things that are without," etc. If his outward trials and afflictions were both heavy and abundant, there were others of a still more poignant kind, which yet could not be separately specified, but generalized only under this reference to his daily burden as a good steward of the grace of God. For hard as his outward trials were, they left his mind unruffled, though his flesh might shrink or tremble. Personal danger or bodily affliction could not take away his spirit's rest; he could sing at midnight in his chains, and with his stripes unwashed; but anxiety about his brethren filled him with dismay. And if the state of things in the Corinthian church took so strong a hold upon his heart, as to seem for a while to paralyze his spiritual energies(ante, 2 Cor. 11:12-13), we may seek in vain to estimate the weight of that great charge which divine grace had imposed on him as the general nursing-father of God's children, and which the same grace enabled him to bear so painfully, yet with such willing mind. "The care of all the churches!" And was he stretching himself beyond his measure in claiming for himself a diocese so universal? Love knows no limits, while duty faithfully observes its path. The epistle to the Hebrews* shows us in how rich a measure his yearning for his brethren of the circumcision, though often thwarted, was yet owned of God; while his commission as the apostle of the Gentiles, gave him an immediate interest in every assembly under heaven, that confessed the name of Jesus Christ.

There are in truth few passages in Scripture, which excel in pregnant force the language of this verse. And who, but one who felt the value and rich meaning of the truth he preached, could have either understood or carried such a burden? A man of trust must also be a man of care. Great indeed was the honour attaching to his office, and in the sustaining strength of Him who faints not, and is not weary, he bore it uncomplainingly, not asking to be eased of that which, if his burden, was his glory also. But it lay upon him heavily from day to day, with a weight little dreamt of by these thoughtless and self-satisfied Corinthians.

And had they who devoured them and smote them on the face any share in such a burden? And let us here mark well, in its practical application to ourselves, the difference between true godly care and anxiety about the things of Christ, which have their root in faith, and that false-hearted carelessness, which, on the nominal plea of casting all its burdens on the Lord, flings far away the sense of personal responsibility, and would, in its antinomian boasting, make a merit of its shame. The complaint of the apostle, when he weighed anxiously the average of Christian sentiment, was that all sought their own, not the things of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:21); and because he, and the few who were like-minded, walked by another rule, they walked like men who carried something precious through a dangerous place, and till their task was ended could not be at ease.

"But Martha was distracted with much serving, and, coming up, she said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? speak to her therefore that she may help me." Thus not only was there a large spice of self-importance in Martha, but she felt herself constantly slighted and incommoded by others. The spirit of egoism measures by itself, and cannot appreciate a love which is deeper than its own, and which issues in ways and forms which have no beauty in its eyes. Therefore Mary, instead of being an object of complacency to Martha, troubled her: Why did Mary not help her? Martha's thoughts circled round herself. Had she been thinking of Jesus, she would not have dictated to Him any more than have complained of Mary. "Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? speak to her therefore that she may help me." What want of love and lowliness! She does not even leave it to the Lord to direct. Self is always captious as well as important, and as swift to impute to others as to arrogate to itself what is unbecoming. "Speak to her therefore that she may help me." She forgets that she was but the servant of the Lord. Who was she to wish to control Him? Martha was full of zeal, but of her own ways (not to say her own will) in serving Christ.

Jesus, however, answers with the dignity that was proper to Him, and the love that always sees true to its mark (for there is nothing that gives such a single eye as genuine affection), but which at the same time vindicates the true-hearted before those who misunderstand them. He loved them both, indeed, and says in reply, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things." He deals first of all with herself. She ought not to have been thus anxious and careworn. Martha did not know what Paul knew so well: "This one thing I do." (Phil. 3:13.) There was never a man with such multitudinous occupations as the apostle; there was never another with such a heart for the Church. And yet he could happily employ his hands in making tents, because he would not be burdensome, though he had a right to be so as an apostle of Christ. What was it that carried him through all his unexampled toil and suffering, undistracted and happy? The reason was that one person, the only worthy Object, filled and governed his heart. This made him thoroughly happy in the midst of the deepest afflictions. This "one thing" is precisely what is needful for the child of God, and the very thing that Martha practically had not.279 It was not that she did not believe in the Lord; but she had her own thoughts too. Nature was strong. Jewish feeling and tradition held their ground; all these things wrought actively in her mind; and to such a person receiving the Lord Jesus was not only a question of doing Him honour, but of receiving honour herself too. In such cases self always, more or less, mingles even with the desire to show present respect to Jesus. In verse 41, "Jesus" has the support of ACDE and all later uncials, most cursives (1, 69), Syrr. including sin., with Old Lat. and Memph.; but Revv., as Edd., have adopted "the Lord," following ℵBpm L, Old Lat. and Amiat.

"But there is need of one; and Mary has chosen the good part, such as shall not be taken from her." There is nothing like it. That good part is prizing Christ and His Word, not thinking what Mary could do for the Lord, but what the Lord could do for Mary. To receive all for her soul from the Lord, instead of receiving Him into her house, was before Mary's soul. This was the one thing needful — it was Christ Himself. He is all, and Mary felt this. That "good part, such as shall not be taken from her" — it is eternal. Martha's honours passed away; they were shortly about to end, for soon Jesus would not be known after the flesh, but must be known, if at all, in a higher glory than that of the Messiah. Soon, therefore, the possibility of receiving Him with a hospitable heart could not be Martha's portion; for at His cross it would necessarily be cut short and disappear. But Mary's position of lowly faith in hearing His Word could be always. Even in heaven the essence of it will not be lost. Communion with Jesus, delight in Jesus, humility of heart before Jesus, will always be true; it is the part of real devotedness and of the deepest love. Great as faith and hope may be (and their value cannot be over-estimated on earth), still, after all, love is that which abides for ever and love now is in proportion to the power of faith and hope. All these things were incomparably richer and stronger in Mary's heart than in Martha's, and this because Christ filled her heart — this one thing that is needful. Blass omits all after second "Martha" as far as "and" (Revv. "for"), after Syrsin and some copies of Old Latin. D contains "thou art troubled." The words reproduced are sustained by the mass of authority recognized by other Edd.; but there is a question as to "There is need of one," which is the reading of ACpm, most later uncials with cursives, Syrrcu and some Old Lat. (Tisch. Treg.). W. H. and Weiss adopt "Few things are needful or one," as in ℵBCcorr L, 1, 33, Memph. Aeth. and Origen. But see Scrivener, ii., p. 349f. The "and" (Treg.) is in AC, etc. Revv., as most Edd., "for," after ℵBL, 1, 69.

We know that the believers to whom Peter was writing were suffering. The word suffering is used in connection with them ten times in the epistle1 and because of these many trials they were in heaviness and distress (1 Peter 1:6). In chapter four we read of the fire of persecution that had come upon them (1 Peter 4:12). They were being persecuted by their Jewish brethren according to the flesh and by the unbelieving Gentiles. They were being persecuted by the power of Rome and it would seem from 1 Peter 2:18-20 that some were being persecuted by harsh and unreasonable employers. We can understand, therefore, how many cares they would be carrying. The first word for care in 1 Peter 5:7 signifies anxious, distracting, care. In his “Expository Dictionary of Bible Words” W.E.Vine says that it is probably connected with a word that means to draw in different directions. Who has not known something of this kind of care, this kind of anxiety? It is care that robs of quietness and sleep. The divine direction is that this care, not in part but the whole, is to be cast upon God. The reason for our doing so is then given “..for He careth for you” and here a different word for care is used. This is care of forethought and interest. It is demonstrated throughout the epistle and a consideration of some of the references to God will show this.