Entrust your worries to God

Of all the things you have ever worried about, tell me something good that came about as a result.

What is worry? I define it as “rehearsing calamity” or meditating on the worse thing that can happen. It is to feel anxious and uneasy, to be disturbed, harassed or annoyed, to be troubled.

How long could one feel this way and still have good health? Worry causes a multitude of illnesses and diseases. Instead of “cardiac thrombosis” written on a death certificate, it could say “worry” as the cause of death.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-26: “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (KJV)

Many of us dwell in the past. Some can’t worry about today because they are worrying about tomorrow.

Worrying is contagious. I have heard that a person’s pet can develop a worry personality from its owner. What a terrible thing to put on a pet.

So what is the antidote of worry? I can think of several things:

Count your blessings. Do you have two eyes that can see, two ears that can hear, two legs that can walk and two arms that can hug? If you do, you are blessed. Some do not have these blessings you have.

Live one day at a time. An unknown author quoted: “Yesterday is a canceled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, but today is cash in hand.”

Rethink your thinking. Break the habit of negative self-talk and wrong thinking. Reorganize your thought patterns and think on things that are pure, lovely and of good report.” (Philippians 4:8)

See worry as fear trying to conquer faith. Consider worrying a tormenting plague from the enemy. Every time he can get you to worry, he adds to it. Eventually you will be overwhelmed.

Believe and act on God’s Word. To do otherwise is destructive. Believe God is big enough to take care of every part of your life. “Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7 NCV).

Know God is on your side. Nothing takes him by surprise. He knows all about you, and he can be trusted. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5 KJV). Victory comes through trust and faith. Fretting and being anxious disturbs body and soul.

Take the energy you use in worrying and replace it with overwhelming positive thoughts. See yourself with God’s help and then be successful, prosperous and victorious.

The greatest antidote to worry is Jesus in you, the hope of glory. In Jesus, you have a love that can never be taken away, an eternal life that will never die, a righteousness that dwells in you, a peace that passes all understanding, a rest that can never be disrupted, a joy that lasts forever, a hope that can never be disappointed, a glory that shines, a light that can never be extinguished and a wisdom that will always serve you.

Throw all your worries away today and have a great day. After all, today starts a new day for the rest of your life.