Falling into the worry trap

Lie:  I should be worried…

Truth:  I don’t need to be worried. God is in control.

Scripture:  Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.”

Another crisis has hit. Everyone is asking you “Oh no! What are you going to do?” You’ve been to the Lord in prayer and therefore you are looking rather calm. This upsets them. “Don’t you care?” they ask. “Aren’t you worried?” You begin to think – well yes, they are right, this is a very big problem; I guess I should be worried. Oh my, what am I going to do??? And there you go, you've just fallen into the worry trap.

Can worrying solve your problem? Answer: no.

Can worrying change your circumstances? Answer: no.

Can worrying bring you peace of mind? Answer: no.

Is there anything positive about worrying? I believe the answer again is ‘no’.

Have I ever fallen into the worry trap? Yes, yes and yes.

Okay so we’re not supposed to worry, well what are we supposed to do? Surely I’m not supposed to just pretend that the problem isn’t there. Surely I’m not supposed to be unconcerned about the news that I just heard about my loved one, or about the accident that just happened, or about the news that we just got from the doctor, etc. etc.

Absence of worry does not mean that you are not concerned or that you are unfeeling. Where can you go when it seems that the water is going over your head? Our verse today tells us exactly what to do – bring it all to Father God, talk to Him about it, make your requests to Him with thanksgiving. And what does the Bible tell us will be the result of this? The peace of God, which passes understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. And God will be at work bringing about the answer to your prayers according to His wisdom. You will also have clarity of mind to know what, if anything, you are meant to do in the situation. Worrying will not give you peace, it will not guard your heart and your mind and most of all it will not change anything.

Is it this easy? It is not always easy; in fact depending on what you are facing it will be a real struggle to pray through to turn your worries over to God. I’ve been there; I know what it is to fight this fight. The devil does not want you to have peace. He certainly does not want the situation to change. Don’t believe the lie that you need to worry about the situation. Don’t fall into Satan’s worry trap. The promise of God is that when you bring it to Him you will have peace. Believe that word.