How Can I Stop Worrying?
CONVERSATIONS:
“ Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” ? Corrie Ten Boom
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Matthew 6:27
The word “ worry” comes from an Old English word wyrgan meaning 'strangle’ or choke. It aptly describes the anxiety we feel when we become anxious and fearful.
Worry affects us emotiomally,physically even spiritually. It can disrupt our sleep, even affect our health.
In the parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus describes how the enemy uses worries and cares of the world, to affect our faith and choke the good seed that was planted.
“. . . but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” Mark 4:19
How should we respond, when problems and worries come?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
The Bible gives us some reminders:
1. Change your Perspective. Jesus says you are valuable.
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew 6: 26
Q. Why do you think Jesus chose to compare us with birds?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Don’t Run after the Wrong Things.
Assess if the things you worry about, have eternal value.
Do you still remember what you worried about, this time, 2 years ago?
Many of our concerns, are often, temporary in nature.
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Matthew 6:31-32
Q. According to the verse above, who is aware of your needs?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. Choose to Seek the Lord. God is bigger than your fears.
Not only is God more powerful than our fears, He is the answer to all our cares.
What’s more, He promises to take care of those who have faith in Him.
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
Q. Is there anything that’s causing you worry today? How can you” seek the Lord” for that concern?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for your reminder that You care for us. Help me not to automatically react in fear or worry, when faced with challenges. I want to change my perspective and remember to “look at the birds”. I know that You have the power to sustain me.
Lord Jesus, give me wisdom not to chase after the wrong things in life, but instead, to seek Your word, and choose what is valuable in Your eyes.
Father, I surrender to You, this worry I have: _______________________.
Give me your perspective about this situation. I choose to trust in Your timing and solution. In Jesus Name, Amen.
My Comments Policy
While my site offers visitors the ability to converse, I have a few ground rules so that our conversations will remain civil and courteous.
1. You must register in order to leave a comment. I don’t entertain pseudo, anonymous or bogus individuals. This site is my home (it has a Home Page, get it). I don’t let strangers who don’t introduce themselves into my home.
2. I love questions. I love them because a lot of times they are similar to someone else’s questions and can even trigger other questions from others. Questions also keep us all sharp. This is also why I respond to them as best as I can and at the soonest possible time. I believe that group answering benefits more people than private email exchanges.
3. We don’t have to agree. Debates are welcome. However, whether it is with me or any other visitors of my site, my rule is this: disagree if you must but keep things civil. That’s just how I run my home, and you are a visitor here. No shouting; I have seen it done in writing. No cursing and no insulting.
4. I reserve the right to delete your comments. Like I said, this is my home. I do not have an obligation to publish your comments. As a human being, you may enjoy the freedom to express your opinions on your own site but not on mine. To be specific, I will delete your comments if you post content that is in my sole opinion: (a) snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum, civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e. an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog entry.
5. You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those posts.
6. You grant me the license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. By posting comments on my site, you automatically grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this clear and simple comments policy will facilitate this.
