Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – November 6, 2018
Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life. Matthew 6:25
If you’ve been worried a lot lately, you may have recognized that worry has the power to derail your hours, days, months, and years. Because when you’re worried, your emotional, spiritual, and physical energy are being poured into trying to control something you can’t control. (Which, if you think about it, sounds like the definition of insanity, right?)
You know how it goes. Perhaps you’re worried that your son won’t graduate from college, that your husband will lose his job, that your wife won’t recover from surgery, that you won’t have enough money for retirement, or that your significant other will break up with you, or any number of things.
You wake in the morning and start worrying and the next thing you know, you’ve spent valuable time tormented about things that are ultimately out of your control, time that could have been used productively for any number of things. Worry is a robber. It steals our emotional energy, faith, productivity, focus, and joy.
So, there are two things you can do: you can choose to worry or you can choose not to worry.
You might be thinking, “Shana, you have no idea what I am facing. Just choose not to worry? You’ve got be kidding.”
Okay, you can’t stop worrisome thoughts from knocking on the door of your mind. They will come knocking. That’s what they do. But you can keep them from barging in the front door of your mind and sitting down on the couch of your life where they stay for the next day, week, month, or year.
When worry comes knocking, the first thing to do is to stop it dead in its tracks by recognizing it. This will probably take practice. If you’re in the habit of worrying, you may go into a “spin” of worry without realizing it. This means that you’ll need to be mindful of what’s going on in your thoughts.
Then, you have to “tell” worry who’s boss by focusing on truth such as: I am loved by God. I am being cared for by Him now and will always be cared for. No matter what comes my way, the Lord will provide for and care for me.
This is what Paul was referring to when he talked about taking thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). By agreeing with God and choosing to have confidence in His love regardless of how you feel, worry will turn around and leave.
You may have to send worry packin’ many times a day as you make your way through a trial. And as you do, you are leveraging evil for good.
Every time you choose faith-filled, God thoughts over faithless, worried thoughts, you are leveraging something destructive for good so that worry points you to—rather than away from—the God who loves you.
Got worry today? Don’t allow worry to march into your life and take over. Instead, boldly proclaim your trust in the God who loves you, cares for you, and will provide all your needs.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Prayer
Lord, please help me to make trust in you a habit. It’s easy to allow worry to control my life. This isn’t your will for me. I rest in your love and the truth that you will care for all that concerns me. Amen.
Application
Write down all of your worries on a piece of paper. Take each one to the Lord. As you talk with Him about them, tell Him how you trust Him and choose confidence over fear.
Related Reading
John 14:27; Psalm 55:22; Hebrews 13:6
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Worry is a robber. It steals our emotional energy, faith, productivity, focus, and joy. #WisdomHunters #worry
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