In an issue of the AARP Bulletin, readers were asked to respond to the question: What’s your strategy for coping with worry & stress? The answers ranged from "Eat a chocolate chip cookie" to "Have a stiff drink."
But Don Betz of Oakdale, Minnesota, offered his unique solution. Every January 1st, Betz says, "I give my wife $1, and she worries about everything for both of us."
That is not the entirety of the plan. Betz added, "If someone else wants to be worry-free, they can also send her a dollar."
If only sending Don’s wife a $1 was all that was needed to deal with our worry, that would be a small price to pay. You know what I mean. You are at the end of your rope; worry and anxiety are eating away at you. There are times we need professional help. At other times you need a breakthrough in your life that can only come from God. We serve a big God. You can pray to God about anything. In fact, he wants to hear from you. He listens, He sees; you need to talk to him.
Jesus was clear about worry in his sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter 6:26 -27, “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 more valuable than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?”
If you have been a worrier most of your life, you may feel like it is intertwined into the fabric of who you are. It is not true. You might have learned how to worry at a young age. But, on the other hand, you might have let it become a coping mechanism or maybe a bad habit.
Worry is not a part of who you were created to be. You were created fearfully and wonderfully in the image of God for his glory. Worry and anxiety are incompatible with walking in the spirit for which you were created. The Bible says this in II Timothy 1:7, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control[sound mind].” God has given us power and love so that we have a sound mind, not a mind of worry. Praising God amid our anxiety is one of the best things we can do. The presence of God leaves no room for worry to dwell, so every time worry makes an appearance, we can choose to lift our hands in praise in the midst of it.
Do you believe that God can heal you from your worry and anxiety? If you are doubtful, don't hide it, admit it, confess it. Like the father in the Bible Mark 9:17-24 who came to Jesus to heal his son. Jesus said to him, "If you can believe all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief. Let us make this our prayer. And cry out to the one who can help us. Let us be brutally honest with God. He is God, after all. Lord, I believe help my unbelief.
There is one who heals. There is one who breaks the chains of fear, worry, anxiety, and anything else that keeps you from living in the joy of the Lord. You have someone on your side who is more significant than every worry. His name is Jesus. He is here to help you. Finally, you can be free from the cycle of worry. You can say no more.
To the fearful thoughts that plague your mind, you can immediately hand them over to the savior and know that he will come through. He never fails. He never gives up. He never slumbers. He does not grow weary. Do you know that he loves you? He loves you so much that he died for you. He took every sin, every shame, including the worry, and bore it on the cross. He put it to death. Jesus does not want you to cling to worthless fears anymore. Remind yourself that they are useless fears. I will not cling to these worthless fears anymore.
The peace of God replaces your worry. Trust that God has got this. Worry does not stand a chance with God. Thank God for this peace.
Worry will Rob Your Joy
In an issue of the AARP Bulletin, readers were asked to respond to the question: What’s your strategy for coping with worry & stress? The answers ranged from "Eat a chocolate chip cookie" to "Have a stiff drink."
But Don Betz of Oakdale, Minnesota, offered his unique solution. Every January 1st, Betz says, "I give my wife $1, and she worries about everything for both of us."
That is not the entirety of the plan. Betz added, "If someone else wants to be worry-free, they can also send her a dollar."
If only sending Don’s wife a $1 was all that was needed to deal with our worry, that would be a small price to pay. You know what I mean. You are at the end of your rope; worry and anxiety are eating away at you. There are times we need professional help. At other times you need a breakthrough in your life that can only come from God. We serve a big God. You can pray to God about anything. In fact, he wants to hear from you. He listens, He sees; you need to talk to him.
Jesus was clear about worry in his sermon on the mount in Matthew chapter 6:26 -27, “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 more valuable than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?”
If you have been a worrier most of your life, you may feel like it is intertwined into the fabric of who you are. It is not true. You might have learned how to worry at a young age. But, on the other hand, you might have let it become a coping mechanism or maybe a bad habit.
Worry is not a part of who you were created to be. You were created fearfully and wonderfully in the image of God for his glory. Worry and anxiety are incompatible with walking in the spirit for which you were created. The Bible says this in II Timothy 1:7, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control[sound mind].” God has given us power and love so that we have a sound mind, not a mind of worry. Praising God amid our anxiety is one of the best things we can do. The presence of God leaves no room for worry to dwell, so every time worry makes an appearance, we can choose to lift our hands in praise in the midst of it.
Do you believe that God can heal you from your worry and anxiety? If you are doubtful, don't hide it, admit it, confess it. Like the father in the Bible Mark 9:17-24 who came to Jesus to heal his son. Jesus said to him, "If you can believe all things are possible to him who believes. Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord I believe, help me in my unbelief. Let us make this our prayer. And cry out to the one who can help us. Let us be brutally honest with God. He is God, after all. Lord, I believe help my unbelief.
There is one who heals. There is one who breaks the chains of fear, worry, anxiety, and anything else that keeps you from living in the joy of the Lord. You have someone on your side who is more significant than every worry. His name is Jesus. He is here to help you. Finally, you can be free from the cycle of worry. You can say no more.
To the fearful thoughts that plague your mind, you can immediately hand them over to the savior and know that he will come through. He never fails. He never gives up. He never slumbers. He does not grow weary. Do you know that he loves you? He loves you so much that he died for you. He took every sin, every shame, including the worry, and bore it on the cross. He put it to death. Jesus does not want you to cling to worthless fears anymore. Remind yourself that they are useless fears. I will not cling to these worthless fears anymore.
The peace of God replaces your worry. Trust that God has got this. Worry does not stand a chance with God. Thank God for this peace.