“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the centre of your life”. Philippians 4: 6-7
I don’t know about you but I know that I don’t set out each day with a list of things that I would like to worry about. In fact I try to make a conscious decision not to worry but there are many times that I find that before long there are thoughts flying around in my head that are starting to weigh me down and I am imagining the worst case scenario playing out in front of me. Many people struggle with similar negative thoughts and can feel their emotions changing and even physical symptoms such as a tightening in their chest and their heart rate soaring at times leading to panic attacks as these fears build up and overwhelm them! The world recognises that worry is a problem that is affecting all levels of society and there is much research around it. When we look at the figures it’s incredible to see the kinds of things that we worry about; 40% is about future events that do not happen, 30% is about the past which we cannot change, 12% is over needless health worries and 10% petty concerns. There is only 8% of what we worry about that can be classed as legitimate concerns. That means 92% of our worrying is really over useless things that we can not change or will never happen.
So what does the Lord instruct us to do with our worries?
He calls us to turn our worries into prayers. He knows that if we can take these thoughts that are troubling us, that are weighing us down and in many cases affecting our health, and bring them to Him we will find that our perspective changes. Prayer you see is an interchange, it’s a dialogue. However it is not an equal exchange where two sides relate and listen and share burdens. When we pray we come to the Lord and let go. We give to him the weights and burdens that are on our shoulders and in exchange we receive his life and grace. You see the Lord knows that there will be things in life that concern us but he shows us that we have a choice about the way in which we think on these things. I believe it is impossible to praise God and worry at the same time. When we praise the Lord we magnify him, we make him bigger. We put our eyes off ourselves, our situations, everything of this world that grapples for our attention and we tune into our true identity as children of the King. We exalt who God is, we remind ourselves that He is above it all, that he reigns on high, that He has always been and will always be. We remember that He is our Heavenly Father who will not withhold any good thing from those who walk rightly. (Psalm 84: 10)
And today because of Jesus we are righteous and can come boldly to the throne of grace knowing that the Lord will help us in our time of need. I know as I practice this, I find the Lord’s peace becoming real to me. The peace that lives on the inside of me begins to permeate my thoughts and where there has been darkness and confusion I find light and clarity. Even when I don’t have the answers I have a sense of well being because I have given up trying to be in control and surrendered to the one who has actually been holding it all together all along. Today allow Christ to take the centre stage. Recognise every good work that He has done in your life and magnify his love for you! Your worries will disappear effortlessly!
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Unshakeable Hope Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2021