Even when we worry about legitimate things, if we carry it too far, it becomes sin. Jesus warned us about anxious care over and over. The apostles repeated the warning. And we cannot ignore this command without falling into sin.

Why? Because at its core, anxious worry is the belief that we are wiser than God. It's shoving ourselves into his place to do what he has already promised to do. We try to remember what we think he might forget. We insist on carrying burdens he never asked us to carry—as if he were unable or unwilling to carry them himself.

This is disobedience to his plain command. This is unbelief in his word. This is the presumption of intruding where only God belongs. And yes, this is sin.

But it gets worse. Anxiety doesn't travel alone—it brings other sins with it. The person who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God's hands, who insists on carrying his own burdens, will soon be tempted to use wrong methods to help himself. This sin drives us away from God as our counselor and sends us running to human schemes instead. We abandon the fountain of living water for broken cisterns that hold nothing. Israel made this same mistake centuries ago.

Anxiety makes us doubt God's lovingkindness. Our love for him grows cold. Mistrust creeps in. We grieve the Spirit of God. Our prayers hit the ceiling. Our witness crumbles. Our lives become all about self-preservation.

See how lack of confidence in God pulls us away from him? But turn it around. Through simple faith in his promise, cast each burden on him as it comes. Be "careful for nothing," because he undertakes to care for you. This will keep you close to him. This will strengthen you against a thousand temptations.

The promise stands firm: "You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."