While recently listening to an afternoon radio program about “worry,” the woman being interviewed was asked, “I know God says not to worry, but how do we NOT worry?” She answered, “We must ask ourselves, ‘What does it do for me?’ Because to worry must bring something we feel we need. It might look like this:
I’m such a good person, I must worry about and own this
I’m going to be able to stop this thing from happening by worrying
I look important when I worry.
She then said, “Worry serves no functional purpose and damages our health by putting us on constant alert status which works our body up causing:
fear
anxiety
sleeplessness
chronic health problems like headaches, diarrhea, and vomiting
the need to protect something or someone when we really can’t provide protection.
In our humanness, we know we are prone to worry. We worry about:
world events
our family
work
our neighbors
our children
our responsibilities
our loved one’s disability and their care
and then sometimes we even get out of our lane and worry about things that are others’ problems.
Photo credit: Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash.com.
What we need to do is to learn to stay in our own lane, knowing that the more we worry, the less it helps. We can ask God to help us find ways to put all our cares upon Him, for His word says:
I Peter 5:7 “…casting all your anxiety (worries) upon Him, because He cares for you.”
Luke 12:29 “And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying.”
Luke 8:14-15 “…and the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to maturity. And the seed in the good ground, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance (steadfastness).” The application is the seed being the Word of God. Will we allow the Word to fall upon good ground for maturity and helping us not worry?
Luke 10:41-42 ”But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’ ” We need to realize that both women had a choice. Men have a choice, too. Worry affects us all!
When we worry, we don’t trust. When we don’t trust, we are thinking God can’t make a way for us in our challenge or struggle. We need help to rely upon Him alone, and to take to Him our cares, and the cares of others that we are bearing.
For many of us, we’ve had years to learn this, and are still learning. The key is this: Our lives will ebb and flow with trials and challenges, and in each of these we must learn to give them to the Lord, so that we might be able to serve others without any hindrances. Is it easy? Well, easier said than done! No doubt, each of us is dealing with some issue:
Health
Relationship(s)
A prodigal child
A disgruntled employee
A nasty neighbor
Kids making “wacky” decisions
Children not obeying authority
Something weighing on our minds that we can’t let go
Someone overseas in missions work we can’t contact
Someone serving in the military whose location we can’t know
NAME YOURS.
So maybe right now would be the perfect time to pray to the Lord for direction, to cast our cares upon Him, and to finally let Him take care of it for us. Let’s give it a try, and when we find we take back our worry, return it to Him again and again as we learn to trust Him! Let’s do it!
Dr. Joe and Cindi Ferrini share their newest book: Love All-Ways: Embracing Marriage Together on the Special Needs Journey (order at www.cindiferrini.com). They are authors, speakers, and bloggers for several blogging sites on marriage, family and special needs. They speak nationally for FamilyLife Weekend To Remember Marriage Get-a-Ways, authored *Unexpected Journey – When Special Needs Change our Course, and have been interviewed on Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, Janet Parshall at “In the Market”, Chris Brooks of “Equipped” and various other radio and television venues. Connect with them at: www.cindiferrini.com and via social media at: www.facebook.com/cindi.ferrini, www.facebook.com/UnexpectedJourney/ and www.facebook.com/MyMarriageMatters/.
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