Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then, you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
The Root of Worry
What if things haven’t turned out how you think they should?
Aren’t you right to worry?
Worry.
Has it become your closest companion?
Have you ever wondered why some people tend to worry more than others?
Are some just wired that way?
It helps to look at the root of my worry: I want to be the center of my life.
I was born that way.
It’s part of the original sin.
I desire to control everything, from input to output, and all the results.
I’m hardwired to trust in myself.
That’s the root.
It reflects my reluctance to trust God for everything, from taking care of myself to things turning out how I “think” they should.
It’s setting myself on the throne of my life and world and telling God how I think everything should operate.
Sin is seeking to get my needs met outside of Jesus Christ.
If I believe He is King, I can trust that He’ll work through me to provide for my needs.
I can trust that the resulting outcomes will bring glory to Himself through my life.
Our responsibility is always to respond to Him.
My response is to do what He leads me to do, to trust Him for the power to do it, and to embrace the ultimate results whether or not they please my expectations.
I pray that you no longer live in the land of “what if.”
Don’t live in the past by constantly thinking, If I had only.…
Don’t live in the present land of What if God doesn’t come through this time?
And don’t live in the future land of What if things don’t turn out like I think they should?
That’s a land inhabited by guaranteed unfulfillment and death.
May you live instead in the fulfillment of trusting God for everything.
He’s redeeming the past, providing for the now, and completing your destiny of glorifying and enjoying Him forever.
May you recognize the truth that you can’t…but God can and will.
How has worry hijacked your life?
What are the things that tempt you to worry?
Describe what your life would be like if you didn’t succumb to worry.
Lord, may we trust You with all of our life. Our relationships, outcomes, and fulfillment are in You. Amen