What is the difference between anxiety and worry?

Matthew 6:25-34“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Anxiety is characterized by excessive fear and ruminations that can sometimes spiral into panic. Worry or fretting is a state of being concerned about a situation. Anxiety tends to be pervasive (for example, feeling as though the world is closing in and life is falling apart), while worry tends to be specific (for example, concern about a loved one’s health, nervousness about taking a test or giving a speech). However, dwelling on worry and negative thoughts can form the foundation for patterns of anxiety.

Psalm 16:7-9I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.

Matthew 10:19-20“When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

John 16:33“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Anxiety tends to assume the worst outcome, and it is persistent and perpetual. It often forms a constant cycle of asking “What if . . . ?” or dwelling on “I shouldn’t have . . .” or thinking “This always happens!” Worry focuses much more on present circumstances (for example, concern about the fallout from a bad performance review or regretting something we just said).

2 Corinthians 4:17-18Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

1 John 2:17This world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

Anxiety is longstanding; that is, we see no end in sight, assuming that a current problem or negative situation will last a very long time. Worry, however, is temporary and only lasts as long as a particular circumstance.

Numbers 13:31–14:4The other men who had explored the land with him [Caleb] disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

Psalm 143:4I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear.

The ten spies who disagreed with Joshua and Caleb stirred up the people to the point that “they cried all night.” As a result, Israel did not enter the Promised Land and had to wander in the wilderness another forty years (Numbers 14:33-34). Worry can be a problem, but anxiety can incapacitate people at all levels—cognitive, emotional, and behavioral.