No Worries
Week 38, Monday
Leigh Lowery
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.
Philippians 4:6-7
Is there a worry gene? Do we have a choice, or are certain people just predisposed to be worriers? Is worry a visible sign of a lack of trust? Do we really believe God gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him? Our answers to these questions get to the root of our worry problem.
When in the midst of a crisis, or a “meltdown,” as our family describes it, we often run to family members, friends, or counselors expecting them to give us answers or even fix our problem. We poll everyone who will listen, asking what we should do. But no peace comes from their opinions. In fact, we become even more anxious as we weigh the assessments of others.
The struggle is whether or not we are willing to lay our troubles at the feet of Jesus and walk away knowing He will do what is best for us and for His glory. Thankfully, our struggle with worry is nothing new, and God has already provided a cure. His prescription is simple to understand but hard to swallow: Give your worries to God with a thankful heart and He will give you peace. He will do the hard work of guarding our hearts and minds.
Lord, this sounds so simple, yet I struggle. Today I lay my worry at Your feet and trust You to work out everything for my good and Your glory. I need Your strength to keep from picking up my worries again today after I have already given them to You. Thank You that You do the hardest part! You are bigger than any problem I face and strong enough to handle anyone or anything. I find peace in Your care and I am grateful. Amen.
Sometimes I think worry is my middle name. I really try not to, it does seem simple enough to just lay down all my struggles at the feet of Jesus, so why can’t I do it? I know that God is working hard on me…I’ve been getting “signs”, you know, certain songs are sung at church or come on the radio, I read something either in my devotion, the Bible or in a blog, someone says something, and it all relates…God’s making one huge web around me to get stuck into, I just need to stop trying to get out of it.
I am not usually a worrier. I KNOW my GOD is in control. I do sometimes worry about the small unimportant happening in life and stress myself with them. I pray I will also give those unimportant things to God for him to carry and me to be free from them.