The worries woke me up this morning... They are the ugly black creatures that wait until the wee hours of morning to harass you and wake you up from your sleep whispering in your ear... "How are you going to resolve this problem or this one.... or this one... or this one..." They steal your peace and fill you with fear and well - worry. The more of an ear you give them, the louder and more aggressive they become. Their biggest trick is to taunt you, often times repeating the same thing over and over again..."You have to take care of A,B,C - but you can't... Because all you have is this... How are you going to do it? You can't.. There will be ramifications... You are in trouble..." They get louder and louder because they are "faith drowners." If you listen to the worries, the voice of your faith becomes a whisper until it blows out like a fire that becomes nothing more than an ember and if you're not careful they can totally blow the fire of your faith out until all that is left is smoke.
Worries can only become as big as you allow them to get. If you give them your undivided attention they grow, bigger and bigger and bigger! They make your heart palpitate and ruin any enjoyment you might get from a day. They drown out everything around you until you are consumed with them. Like a tornado they can destroy everything good in your life. Wiping out family moments, or enjoying the small things in life because all you can see is the darkness of the worries and the more you give them room - pretty soon they are all you can focus on. All you can see is their blackness, they choke out anything good around you and rob you of the simple things in life. Their job is to steal from you - peace, joy, love, contentment, happiness. They fill you with stress, heart palpitations, health issues and sometimes turn you into a person full of bitterness instead of one of faith.
How do you combat the worries when they come flooding into your mind? Sometimes having someone to share them with helps to make them shrink down into the little itty bitty things they really are. Two heads are better than one, sharing your worries helps sometimes helps put them in perspective.
The most powerful slayer of worries, is the Word of God. The best way to combat the worries is to quote scriptures out loud. Sometimes the louder you quote your promises, the bigger your faith becomes and the worries shrink. Lift EACH worry up to the light of your Heavenly Father in prayer, because He is BIGGER than ANY worry that can harass you. How to handle worries are even addressed in the bible:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food? And the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25)
"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?" (Luke 12:26)
"I sought the Lord and He heard me, and delivered me from ALL my fears." (Psalms 34:4)
"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." (Philippians 4:6-7)
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones." (Proverbs 3:5-8)
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13)
We choose how we live life. We can allow "the worries" to overwhelm us and take over and live our lives in worry and fear - or we can choose to recognize those worries, sort out the things we can change and pray about those things we have no control over. The choice is ours. Worries are thieves that try to enter our mind and rob us of all the good things in life. John 10:10 tells us that "God came so that we could have life and have it MORE abundantly." Who do you choose to listen to? The Author and Creator of life? Or the worries that are nothing more than annoyances that try to deplete us of the enjoyment of life that God has so abundantly given us?
L'Chaim - To life! Choose life! When the worries flood your mind - combat them by "changing your mind." Watch them dissipate as you concentrate your mind on your blessings instead of on your lack. Darkness cannot abide with light. As you begin to think of all the many ways that you are blessed those little dark "worries" will run in fear, for they cannot stand when you replace them with recognizing ALL the blessings you have in your life. They will flee. Try it and see and watch God as He blesses you with an increase of faith, mercy, grace and appreciation for ALL the good that is in your life.
"Worries - be gone! I've no room in my mind for you today as I concentrate on all that is good and right in my life. I give you no more power over my mind. You may not steal any more moments of my life or take away my peace of mind! Be ye gone! I cover you with the blood of Jesus. In Jesus name! AMEN!"
