Worry, worry, worry...
Author: Abi Oxley-Derrick
February 09, 2023
“Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose”
? Eckhart Tolle
Worry, worry, worry. The same beast that comes back over and over again no matter how hard we try to avoid it. Worry: robbing joy, creating uncertainty, and a great tactic that the enemy uses to distract us from the overwhelming faithfulness of God.
Not surprisingly, the Bible has a lot to say about worry:
John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
1 Peter 5:7: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
Colossians 3:15: "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Matthew 6:25: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothes?”
Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Luke 12:25: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?”
Psalm 94:19: "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
Psalm 56:3: "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Proverbs 12:25: "Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”
I know what you’re thinking. This is SO much easier said than done. But good news! God didn’t expect us to live a life free of worry, that’s why He has so much to say about it. But He also doesn’t expect us to fight worry on our own, and Praise the Lord that he gives us a wonderful road map to combat it.
Worry is everywhere. It permeates day-to-day life, and the word is thrown around as easily as any other. The devil loves the fact that worry is a trend in our society that never seems to be going out of style. But you know what the devil doesn’t love? The people of Christ going to the Lord with a spirit and attitude of thanksgiving, presenting our worries to the Lord, while thanking Him for how well He’s loved and cared for us. He doesn’t love Christ-followers remembering that worry doesn’t add a single moment to our life, and that worrying about being fed and clothed is useless. He doesn’t love us encouraging each other with kind, uplifting, God-honoring words. And he really, really, doesn’t love us casting our cares unto Christ and surrendering our hearts, minds, fears, worries, and thoughts to Him.
When life gets heavy, and worry is present, here is what the bible calls us to do:
1. TELL HIM: God knows us, He knows our hearts and our worries. But He also asks us to bring Him into the struggle, and cast our cares on Him. Just like you would share with your best friend about what’s troubling you, He asks us to do the same.
2. REMEMBER: How many times in your life can you look back and see the faithfulness of God? How He has cared for you, provided for you, protected you? When we look back on God’s faithfulness, it’s so much easier to not be overwhelmed with worry for our future.
3. LEAD WITH GRATITUDE: We see in scripture multiple times that God tells us to lead out in thanksgiving, first remembering what He’s done for us before presenting requests. The next time the enemy is attempting to drown you in worry, do this one simple task: start writing down everything you are thankful for. It gets very difficult to be consumed with worry when your heart is fixed on gratitude.
Worry isn’t going anywhere. As long as we live in a broken world, fear and anxiety will be a constant battle. But as we walk through this, let’s remember fully that God knows and cares for us, and has equipped us with tools to fight it. He will never give us a challenge that He won’t prepare us for.
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