Worry and Anxiety
Worry/anxiety is being unsure about the future and letting our mind dwell on difficulties or troubles in life. It’s when we allow our mind to dwell on the “what if” in life. What if my health gets worst? What if I lose my house? What if my children turn away from God? Worry/anxiety is a battle in the mind.
When we are unsure about the future, should we worry? Will that help our situation? According to God’s Word we should not worry/anxiety. Matthew 6 tells us that we should not worry because God will take care of all the details of our life, it is more harmful than helpful, and it shows our lack of faith in God and understanding of God. Worrying can also cause us to have health problems as well (Proverbs 3: 7-8 and Ecclesiastes 11: 20).
What is the difference between concern and worry? Concern means although we are unsure about the future we still live our lives. We still get up in the morning, we are productive, we will work, we will take care of our family, and we will still praise God. But worry paralyzes us- we live in fear, we can’t sleep at night, we have no peace in our hearts.
So if we are not supposed to worry then what should we do? God’s Word calls us to replace worry with prayer, thanksgiving, and right thoughts (Philippians 4: 6-8). This means we change our worry list into a prayer list. Instead of saying “my marriage is a mess” we say “thank you God for my marriage and you are working out the details.” We replace negative thoughts with the word of God. If you are feeling fearful, you would say I am not afraid but declare “God will never leave me nor forsake me” - Joshua 1: 5.
Instead of worry, we live one day at a time (Matthew 6: 34). God wants us to take care of the things we can today, and deal with the rest tomorrow.
Finally, but most importantly instead of worry God calls us to pursue Him and put Him first. When we do that instead of worry, God’s Word says He will give us what we need - “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you” - Matthew 6: 33. If we choose to take care of God’s business, He takes care of ours.
