I’m definitely a natural worrier. I often have to put some serious effort into turning my mind away from things that are concerning or unknown. I overthink pretty much everything, working through the possible outcomes or eventualities even when there is no evidence to help me do so. I fret about things, and won’t let them go. And I’m pretty sure I’m in the majority in being a worrier.
Recently, I’ve been trying hard not to worry. I’ve been trying not to overthink or live so completely in the future that I forget to enjoy each day. My daily bible reading is certainly helping me with that. It’s reminding me that God has planned each day for me, and that I’m doing Him a disservice if I try to push through a day, worrying as I go, simply to get to a new day when there might be an answer for whatever it is that is making me worried.
And I’m finally making some headway. It seems to me that when we worry we are employing a defence mechanism. We are hiding from the day to day, hiding from the realities that we need to face now, and building up a wall of concern and what-ifs. But what if instead of a defence mechanism, we attacked? What if we stood up for each day, faced down our worries, and refused to let them stop us enjoying what we have in front of us?
It shouldn’t be so hard to stand up and face each day without worry. The Bible repeatedly tells us to give our worries to God, and that he will support us. I particularly like Psalm 37:23-24:
The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
God has taken care with His plans for us. He has things for us to do, and He does not leave us to step out into the world unprotected. Our protection is stronger than any other, so we don’t need to worry. We can step out as warriors knowing that God is our defence. He doesn’t promise that we won’t need that defence; in fact He tells us that we will, but He also promises to protect us, and reassures us that we can trust Him.
So, what worries you? What is stopping you from seeing today because you are too concerned about tomorrow? Stop dwelling on those things! Look out at the world, think about what today brought that made you smile, and thank God for those things. Thank Him for the trials and struggles as well, and thank Him for His help in moving you past them.
When I was little, my sister gave me some “worry dolls” – it was a little bag with some tiny dolls in, and the idea was to assign a worry to each doll, and by saying them to the dolls, I could then go to sleep, no longer worrying because I’d just set my worries aside. It probably won’t surprise you that it wasn’t a particular effective way of finding sleep. Instead, I’d carefully focus my mind on all the things that worried me just before attempting to fall asleep, leaving me more wide awake and worried than before… I have a different method now. I talk to God. If I can’t get a worry out of my head, then I talk to Him about it. But more often I talk to Him about what made me happy, and about the things He has shown to me or given to me that remind me of His goodness. I’m trying really hard to thank Him for the things that have caused me to worry as well, because I know that those things remind me of my fundamental need to rely on Him.
I know now that I fight my worries with God at my side, in front of me and behind me. He has my back, He goes before me into every fight, and He gives me the strength I need. I face my worries and beat them through experiencing the joy of being well and truly backed up in a time of need. I don’t always achieve what I set out to in battling my worries. Sometimes I try to face them on my own, which never goes well, but generally when it goes badly, that’s enough of a reminder to start leaning on God again.
If you’re battling worries, big or small, I’d encourage you to try three things:
- Thank God for the opportunity to lean on Him, and then really lean on Him
- Try to stop worrying for long enough to enjoy all the good things we get from God
- Remember that while tomorrow might hold something you’re dreading, today is still an opportunity to experience God’s wonder
And if you can do none of the above, or if you are still drowning in your worries, remember to pray. If you can’t get past your worries, tell God about them. It might just help.
Brilliant, Suzie!!!
Very timely, thank you.