I saw a magnet in a kitchsy little shop once which read "I should worry more because everything I have ever worried about has never happened."
It made me smile and many times I wish I had purchased that little magnet. It's a good reminder that worry is useless. I wish that idea by itself kept us all from doing it.
Here's where I stand on the whole "worry" issue. I worry. A little. Especially when things first pop up that might be damaging or agonizing. The checkbook gets a little low. Raising kids. Relationships. You know what I'm talking about, because you deal with the same issues from time to time.
After the initial "worry" phase has run its course, I am able to move on. It's not that I don't think about the things that bring stress. (hmmmm. double negative there, sorry) I do. I think of them often. The enemy of my soul is able to shoot those little darts of anxiety to me at the most inopportune times. But I have learned something in my 55 years and it's this: worry changes nothing. There you have it.
Worry is useless because ultimately God is in control of every situation. Every. Single. One. He has this whole "plan thing" worked out in advance and His promises to me are that He's going to work it out for His glory and my good. He has never let me down yet.
I am working on making a habit of going to God when things are piling up and tension is mounting. Usually this comes with a brief prayer that sounds something like this "take this thing away and please handle it." That is followed by a reading of one of many Psalms. My "go to Psalm" for worry is Psalm 28. "The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one." This morning a new verse came via email which is a verse I am claiming as my foundation for today: Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall. (Ps. 55:22)
I could worry more than I do. It wouldn't really be all that difficult. But then I think about this... I like sleep. Sleep is a good thing; and, let's face it... I'm pretty good at it. So I might as well give my worries to God and let Him handle them. He's going to be up all night anyway.
It made me smile and many times I wish I had purchased that little magnet. It's a good reminder that worry is useless. I wish that idea by itself kept us all from doing it.
Here's where I stand on the whole "worry" issue. I worry. A little. Especially when things first pop up that might be damaging or agonizing. The checkbook gets a little low. Raising kids. Relationships. You know what I'm talking about, because you deal with the same issues from time to time.
After the initial "worry" phase has run its course, I am able to move on. It's not that I don't think about the things that bring stress. (hmmmm. double negative there, sorry) I do. I think of them often. The enemy of my soul is able to shoot those little darts of anxiety to me at the most inopportune times. But I have learned something in my 55 years and it's this: worry changes nothing. There you have it.
Worry is useless because ultimately God is in control of every situation. Every. Single. One. He has this whole "plan thing" worked out in advance and His promises to me are that He's going to work it out for His glory and my good. He has never let me down yet.
I am working on making a habit of going to God when things are piling up and tension is mounting. Usually this comes with a brief prayer that sounds something like this "take this thing away and please handle it." That is followed by a reading of one of many Psalms. My "go to Psalm" for worry is Psalm 28. "The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one." This morning a new verse came via email which is a verse I am claiming as my foundation for today: Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall. (Ps. 55:22)
I could worry more than I do. It wouldn't really be all that difficult. But then I think about this... I like sleep. Sleep is a good thing; and, let's face it... I'm pretty good at it. So I might as well give my worries to God and let Him handle them. He's going to be up all night anyway.
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