Anxiety and fear are inextricably linked in life. What is the differ‑ence between these two negative emotions? Anxiety is thinking that something bad might happen to you. Fear is the belief that something bad will happen to you. When chronic anxiety persists, it inevitably leads to fear. That is why this book focuses on anxiety instead of fear. It is my belief that if you eliminate anxiety, fear will follow. If you change the root, you’ll affect the fruit. If you cut off the head of the snake, it will die. Also, I will use the terms anxiety and worry interchangeably. The Bible seems to do the same. It also throws in the synonym fret as well: “Rest in the Lordand wait patiently for Him; do not fret”(Psalm 37:7‑8nasb).

Anxiety, worry, and fretting are all bad for you. But let’s be clear from the beginning: Anxiety is not a sin. It’s an emotion. Yet it is an emotion that, when left unattended, can lead to sin. To terribly destructive behavior. From overeating to overindulging in alcohol or toregularly lashing out at others, anxiety can hurt your life. But anxiety is not a sin in and of itself.