Something to realize when we face worry which leads to anxiety is that it is HARMFUL. It causes physical problems which give us more to worry about. It makes us look bad to people around us which gives us even more anxiety. As followers of Christ, as God forgiven Christians, shouldn’t we be able to walk through that valley knowing that God is with us?
Psalms 23:4 (TNIV)
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Worry involves be OVERLY concerned about a problem or situation. Worry leads to anxiety which leads to physical problems. The key thing to understand about worry is that while we think that “worrying” about something will either make it go away or that our “worrying” will somehow impact the situation in a favorable way…..the truth is….it won’t. Sending your mind into overdrive and being OVERLY concerned about problems does not solve them. It only causes anxiety.
1. Trust in God and His leading. What does this mean? Trust that applying His wisdom is not only healthy, but that will indeed impact the situation positively.
2. Trust God enough to accept the outcome, even if it is not what “you” wanted.
3. Apply God’s wisdom to the situation: Pray…..forgive (even if you have to struggle doing so), let go of those burdens you have no control over. Most of all….do what is right, morally, and legally.
4. Humble your self and surrender to God. Let Him own the outcome and be in control rather that YOU haveing to do so.
Matthew 6:25 TNIV, (Jesus talking)
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 not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Worrying and experiencing anxiety isn’t easy to defeat–however, Jesus shares with us what we need to know AND DO in order to defeat worry in our lives. The first is found in verse 32b (Matthew 6:32). In speaking about all the things we need–Jesus shares, “your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” The foundation of defeating worry (as well as the foundation of everything in our life) is to TRUST God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (TNIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.[or, “He will direct your paths]Isaiah 26:3-4 (TNIV)
3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. 4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.Romans 15:13 (TNIV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Corinthians 1:10 (TNIV)
“He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us”
I saw it best put like this, “Worry presents us with the dual temptation to distrust God and to substitute fear for practical action. Worry means paying attention to what we cannot change instead of putting our energies to work in effective ways. Jesus made it clear that worry takes away from life rather than adding anything to it. We can counteract worry by doing what we can and trusting where we can’t. When we work for God and wait on his timing, we won’t have time to worry. When we seek first to honor God as king and conform our lives to his righteousness, worry will always finds us otherwise occupied.”
May you find refuge in a relationship with Jesus. May you learn to surrender and humble yourself to His wisdom and love. And may you learn not to worry and to seek His comfort and understanding in all things.
