Worry

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Exodus 14-14     The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.

Psalm 23:4     Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 55:22     Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

Psalm 94:19     When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

Proverbs 3:5-6     Trust in the Lord with all your hear and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 41:10     So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.  

Jeremiah 17:7-8     But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when the heat comes; its leaves are always green  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Matthew 6:25, 34     Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothes? . . .  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Luke 12:25     Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?

John 14:27     Peace I eave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 16:33     These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Romans 8:31     What, then shall we say in response to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?

Philippians 4:6- 8    Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.    

Colossians 3:15     Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.

2 Thessalonians 3:16     Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you.

2 Timothy 1:7    For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind      

Hebrews 13:6     We can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?

1 Peter 5:7     Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

 

Worry is a form of unbelief and not fully trusting in God.  Humans tend to believe they can handle anything that comes up.   Most are raised with the idea and belief that if they work hard, study diligently, and always apply themselves THEY will win.  Please notice it is all about “they” and what they do to win, to score, to succeed.  It is not God working with, not seeking God’s direction and path, but their own skill, intelligence, physical ability, and so forth.  And it is not always true.  Few make it to #1.  All those attributes of applying oneself, working hard are things we need in life.  But God always has a plan for us–and many may not realize that, but His course may be different entirely.

However, as we were taught, yes, you try to do your best always; but you may not be the best.  Certainly, I was not ever the best at anything physical–a slow runner, and did not go great distance, was poor at batting, used to be able to throw a ball fairly accurately–the operative word being “fairly,” and I was awkward gawky so cheerleading was out, and you get the picture.

I did well in school, mostly B’s and a few A’s, and liked school–math. science, English, was well organized and liked having projects done in plenty of time to turn it in.  But although I had a lot of blessings in the area of school work and organization, I was not the best student–and never would be.  So certainly, I worried about my lacks during my school years.  I compared myself with others and found my lagging behind, found me not good enough.  At that point, I did not realize that worry was a form of unbelief, and it was kind of a normal way of thinking for me.  What could I do to measure up to someone else, to improve my athletic abilities (or more truthfully, inabilities)?    So I would worry about my lacks.  My best was not going to make me standout, but it would be noted, could be noted — hard worker, organized, follow through, dependable, diligent with tasks for a project, but I do not like to be the leader.  That is not a comfortable role for me.   

And when things get stressed with different life issues, we worry, we try to fix the things that are wrong.  We gather information and try to fix whatever is wrong with the information and knowledge we have found to address the issue(s).  But we are NOT in charge.  Many things in life need us to take a deep breath, reach out to God asking for grace, patience, the best manner to handle whatever is going on, ask for His strength, and to give thanks. 

He is in charge, He wants the best for each of us children, and He has given so much. . .  and of course, worry is a form of unbelief.  HIs word promises his best for us, and all asked in HIs name will be given.   He wants us to know He is with us always–even in bad times.  And He wants us to remember, we have salvation.

But life can throw us some horrendous hurdles.   Sudden, severe illness of a child or self, unexpected death of a loved one,  abrupt ending of a career, suddenly having to become a caretaker 24/7, and so many other events that can change lives, and your path in life.  Our plans are not always God’s.  With all we are to pray for His strength, HIs will, but how difficult is that when the outcome may be a horrific change?    But God wants our trust, our hearts, and He will be with us, no matter the outcome.   Does that mean if someone severely ill or critically injured that they will always survive?  In cases of emergencies, things feel out of our control, and we need to feel we have some semblance of control.  But in many instances, we have little control.  And as worry increases, we little control.  And if we know Jesus, know the strength of our God and Creator, our hearts and minds are reminded to turn to Him.  He is in control and turning to Him when we feel worry, we are again claiming our belief and trust in God.  If a loved one is critical, we pray and plead, seeking His peace, knowing His promises and to reassure ourselves that God has the best for us.  We also know–and yet never want it to be us–things do not always result in something not causing severe pain or loss.  Much harder then to stop the onslaught and swirl of thoughts and worries.   

Some of these changes could bring about anger–God has heard angry words before–He is big enough to take them, and He understands the pain you are dealing with.   It is difficult to not worry about much in our lives.  There is a great deal of anger and unrest in our country–and in fact the world.  Worry is not going to change the outcomes, but again, God has a plan; He has this.   

Having a relationship with God has helped greatly not worry as often.  I was a crazed person with schedules, working, worrying about child’s school work, house clean, paying bills, and fearful of ex husband and on the rare occasions he had our son, would it bring him back–and unharmed?  My mind felt like a cyclone of fears, thoughts, worries, plans, and the best routes I could figure.  Oh, how I wish I had met God sooner, accepted Him into my life.  

I feel more confident now than years before when I did not know Jesus and God and know there was a plant–and not only that, but my salvation and eternity.  I pray for my family that they will come to know God, develop a relationship with Him, just as they develop a relationship with spouse, close friends, and so forth.  Lord, You know I pray for those who don’t know You and have a relationship with You, and hate the idea of anyone spending eternity separated from You in heaven, and choosing to spend theirs in hell.  But I am so thankful You chose me and ‘mybellaviews.’  I know my salvation is with You.