Why Worry?
Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Isaiah 35:4a
Why worry? Many women overeat, lose sleep, talk too much, or become short tempered when they get anxious or worried.
The causes of worry vary from person to person. How we deal with it can be more universal – when we trust our Bibles.
Reading and listening to women on the topic of worry is interesting. One mother worries about her son who may be moving away to work. Another fears her young adult son will never leave home. Family finances, credit card debt, and one time friends who are now enemies; all reasons Christian women have given for worrying.
It is easy to sympathize with many of the predicaments. For some, the uncertainty of how things will work out requires patience. They are now trying to do the right thing before God, even if they did not on their way into these circumstances, which also leaves guilt as a worry!
They know they need to exercise their faith – but how?
I once heard teaching which said, “Prayer and thanksgiving are the antidote to worry.” The teacher was using Philippians 4: 6-7, “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 your minds in Christ Jesus.”
When we worry we forget that God is sovereign over all, that it is He who gives us peace. But, that peace does not automatically come to the Christian. God calls us to exercise our faith by bringing our prayers and petitions with thanksgiving before Him.
Previous verses remind us that God is near, He will hear when we pray. We understand prayers and petitions but why would God expect us to be thankful in worrisome situations?
If we believe our Bibles (as we say we do), then we can see that God uses all of our circumstances to grow our faith and character so that we honor and glorify Him regardless of the circumstances.
When we offer prayers on behalf of the ones we are worried about – including ourselves – then we put them in the hands of the Lord. We are acknowledging that we do not have the power to change the circumstances or correct the problems – but we know that He does.
Anticipating the answers to our prayers and God’s faithfulness in answering them are reasons to be thankful.
When we’re anxious, we need to replace the anxious thoughts with true and noble thoughts about the God we serve (Philippians 4:8-9). He is able to take any situation we face and turn it, or our attitude about it, around.
Peace comes from trusting Him to enable us to do what we can and leave the rest up to Him.
Indeed, let’s pray, do what we can, and then exercise the antidote to worrying about the outcome by more prayer and thanksgiving to the only One with the power to change anything.
Why worry when we have a Sovereign God?
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