Are You Worried?

Lately, it seems I have been surrounded with people worrying. Don’t get me wrong-I don’t mind it at all, but it weighs on my heart that these people are struggling so much.

What are some common worries (I’m sure each of you could tell me fifty reasons for worry and stress in your life), but for the sake of this post I will name some I have heard lately:

-There’s not enough work.

-There’s not enough money.

-I don’t have enough help.

-I have too much to do.

-There’s never enough time.

-I’m gaining too much weight.

-I’m not getting enough sleep.

-There’s too much to pay for.

-I don’t know who to turn to for help.

-I don’t know what to do with my life.

-I don’t have enough energy.

-There’s always a never-ending work list.

-Things aren’t going my way.

-I’m late for so many things.

-I don’t have what I need for my family.

-Everything’s falling apart.

-My relationships are struggling.

-I don’t want to be away from my family even to go to work.

-I am so mad at my husband/wife. I am always worried about our marriage.

-I don’t want to travel.

-My family member is sick.

-My friend is dying.

-There’s no way to help all those who are in need.

-I’m not living in the right city.

-I can’t stand my boss.

I know some of these statements have come out of my mouth in the last few months. Have any of them come out of your mouth? Have you been thinking these things day after day? It’s not wrong to think or say these things. Unfortunately, it IS life-damaging to let them control your life.

Take it from a worrier…I have a type A personality, many OCD tendencies, was raised in a family with a few “undiagnosed” family members with OCD, and I am an introvert who tends to over-think everything. It used to be that every day my house needed to be clean with everything in its perfect place. I was on an exact, to-the-second schedule and if anything messed that up my anger would flare. I was worried about the groceries. I was worried about the bills. I was worried about the gas we used driving around in our cars. I was worried about everything my family was wearing. I was worried about the way I looked. I was worried about my marriage and my friendships (and many, many more things). Wow! What a life of unhappiness and discontentment. Only recently did I find out that that is no way to live and I found my solution to my problems: Stop worrying!!!

I had always been taught (in church and school) that God asks us to give our worries to Him.

Matthew 6:25, "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 not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”

Matthew 6:27, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

It made me so upset to hear this from others and read these verses because I never felt God could completely take all my stress and anxiety away. Other people could figure it out, but I couldn't. I always told myself that I wouldn’t be able to stop worrying. I couldn't forget about the problem because then I wouldn’t be able to take control of the situation to fix what was broken. I guess I truly thought if the issue was going to be solved, worry would help push me to the solution. FORTUNATELY, I was very wrong.

I have a challenge for anyone that is reading this. Maybe you are someone that has learned how to give up your worry to God. But, if you haven’t accepted God’s offer to take your worries away then just humor me on this: Try to make it through ONE day giving every worry to God. Here are some “techniques” (if you will) to help you. You may adopt different techniques, but this is how I got started.

1) Pray to God. Tell him what you are worried about (Tell him everything that you are worried about at that moment. Don’t sell him short. He can handle it.). Ask Him to take that worry into his hands and off of your heart.

---------WARNING---------- Do NOT stop there. You have a little bit of work to do also. This was my error for most of my life. I would say a prayer and then start worrying again as soon as I said “Amen”. Then, I would wonder why God didn’t take away all my stress. Unfortunately, for us “chronic” worriers it is not that simple. Take some deep breaths and read on…

2) After you pray, you get back to what you are doing…but you start to think about all those worries again. Well, pray again. Tell God you are still worrying. Ask him to help you get through the next five minutes without worrying about something. If you finish your prayer and start worrying again, pray again. Continue this cycle. Don't get frustrated. This is how you need to start.

-(Oh…and for some of you who require practicality, you can pray while you are doing whatever you are doing. God is always listening. You don’t have to go into a quiet, dark room and get down on your hands and knees. You don’t even have to close your eyes. Just turn your focus internally to God instead of externally on your work for a few moments. )

3) You have to learn a new habit. I’m sure you have heard or read how difficult it is to give up “bad” habits. All of your life your habit was to constantly worry about one situation or another, and let it control your actions throughout each of your days. It is going to take some time to learn how to give God your worries, and the stress and anxiety that come with it. God will be with you to help you every step of the way.

4) This is not a simple task. Please don’t give up. It is more worth it than you could imagine! Continue to replace your worries with prayer to God. God is faithful!!! He will answer you! He will begin to change your thoughts and your actions as long as you ask it of him.

-I have to be honest with you. I spent the first few days praying about every three to five minutes. I was ready to give up my control to God, and I soon found out the more control I gave to God the better the situation turned out.

If you try this, set a goal for yourself to try it for a full week or longer…the end goal being FOREVER. Eventually, you will automatically give your worry to God without even thinking about it first. Also, this works for every trial in life revolving around: anger, resentment, negativity, impatience, sadness, denial, and more. If your “bad” habits are focused on one of these topics I just mentioned, then follow the same steps inserting that topic instead of worry.

DISCLAIMER: Do you know who God is? Do you trust God? Do you have faith in God that he is our Creator? If you said “no” to any of these questions, start by learning more about Him. Knowing and understanding God’s character leads to complete trust in Him. Sometimes it is difficult to depend on (and give your worries to) someone you don’t already trust.

DISCLAIMER: I am not helping you forget about important issues in your life. I am helping you learn how to NOT let the issues control your thoughts and your actions. For example: It’s okay to think about how to complete a project, but instead of worrying about the end result, just concentrate on what you can do this hour or what you can do today. Tomorrow will eventually come and you can start working on it again then.

Here is a little more I’ve learned about worry:

-“Do not be concerned with the impression you leave on other people, be concerned with the impression you leave on God.” (A. W.) No more worrying about what others think of your clothing, your hairstyle, your imperfections, the way you do things, etc. God made you the way you are.

-Are you always worrying about money? Stop now! Ask God to take this worry away. When we trust in the Lord, he always provides for our needs.

-Are you worried about your marriage or your relationships? Have you let God be a part of them at all?

-Are you worried about the way you are raising your children? God wants us to expand his kingdom. Give this worry to God. Focus on teaching your children about God. Maybe do devotion with them every night. Give them Godly discipline. Have family prayer times scheduled. Let them know what God is doing in your life.

(All of these topics really require their own full blog, but for now I am sticking to a small paragraph for each. ) :)

When God is your focus instead of worry: He will help you through hard times (yes, there will still be difficult times in your life). You will have clothing to wear. You will have food to eat. You will have money to pay your bills (everyone will have different amounts-how much God knows you need). You will have rest. You will have the energy you need to accomplish you life’s tasks. Your life plans will be complete. When things don’t go your way, they will still not be burdensome…

ALL WHEN YOU MAKE GOD THE FOUNDATION IN YOUR LIFE.