It produces nothing that is positive. Not one thing.  It steals our joy. It puts us on edge. It hijacks our minds and alters our ability to reason. It even erodes our health. Its physical effects include:

• dizziness
• fatigue
• headache
• increased heart rate
• insomnia
• muscle tension
• shortness of breath
• sweating
• trembling and twitching

It serves no practical purpose. God Himself tells us that it is nothing but a colossal waste of time (DKV--Dan Kuiper Version). And yet we all do it. We all worry.

It is normal to have worrisome thoughts from time to time. We wonder how our bills will get paid, what the test results will be, how a conflict will get resolved. And many of us are able to ponder these things for a time, find a solution, then move on.

But some of us have made worry a lifestyle. It has become our constant companion. We live on the cliff of "what if?" And there is nothing about that which is beneficial to us. Constant worrying makes us tense. Preoccupied. Irritable. It shrouds us in a feeling of hopelessness. Worry has no redeeming qualities.

The word worry comes from an old English word meaning, "to choke or strangle." Worry suffocates our spirit. It suppresses our soul. That is not a position God wants to see us in.

So the question is this: If it is so bad for us, why do we worry? The answer is simple.  We worry because of our pride. 

We worry because we convince  ourselves that we can control situations that are conclusively not in our control. We worry because we are unwilling to surrender our circumstances to the One who can actually do something about them. We worry because of a core belief that pretentiously tells us that the results are solely up to us.

Worry is nothing but a control issue. 

And the first step in overcoming worry is recognizing what we can control and what we can't. The truth is, we can't always change our circumstances. But we can change what we think about them.

Look closely at these definitions of the word worry (emphases mine):

• "To allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles"--Oxford Dictionary
• "To torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts"--Dictionary.com

Worry does not come from without, it comes from within. Make no mistake about it. We choose to worry.
But overcoming worry is more than simply choosing not do what is bad. It is about choosing to do what is good. 

God gives us the antidote to worry. It is to give Him control of our circumstances. It is to recognize that He can do what we can't. Our Heavenly Father tells us, as only a loving parent can, Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell (me) what you need, and thank (me) for all (I have) done. Then you will experience (my) peace, which exceeds anything (you) can understand. (My) peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

​Allow God to free you from worry's choke hold and fill your mind with His peace.

It was only eight days into our marriage, while on a day trip to Knotts Berry Farm, that I discovered my wife and I were incompatible: I love roller coasters, Jan detests them.  If she was given the choice between riding Montezooma’s Revenge and having Montezuma’s Revenge, most of our communication would take place through the bathroom door.

So in the interest of marital harmony, I took my new wife to check out all the attractions that did not include the words thrilling or death-defying in their brochure description. With Safety First as our (her) motto, we chose to venture into one of those optical illusion houses that was built in the side of a fake mountain.

To demonstrate the illusion that the floor was level when, in actuality, it was constructed on an angle, our tour guide asked for a volunteer. He looked past all the children who were eagerly waving their hands and chose Jan, who would never volunteer to do anything that would place her even near a spotlight. 

She tried to beg off but the guide assured her that her assignment would be painless. He said, “All I want you to do is walk across the room and sit on this chair next to me.”

That sounded easy enough. But as Jan took her first step she realized the severity of the angle on which the floor was built. To a chorus of snickers, she trudged across the room looking like she was climbing up the down escalator wearing Herman Munster’s shoes.

When she finally made it safely to the chair, the guide, who seemed to relish in my wife’s disdain over being his visual aid, asked her name. “Jan,” she said, although clearly wishing to remain anonymous. Then he asked, “Where ya from?” She answered, “Indiana.”

“So what brings you to California?” he asked. Jan replied, “We’re on our honeymoon.” The guide’s comeback was instantaneous: “No wonder you’re walking like that!”

This incident may have happened in an amusement park, but my wife was far from amused. I, on the other hand, was nodding as I looked around the room, saying in my head, “That’s right.”

When I think back on that scene and picture my bride dragging along, struggling to take the next step, it makes me think of how many of us go through life with a similar gait. We plod along, fighting the forces that would hold us down, praying that we can muster the strength to keep moving onward and upward.

People today are weary. Week after week, day after day, we drag ourselves from one activity to the next, lugging burdens we don’t even realize we’re carrying, striving to reach goals we can’t even identify. Even those who claim to walk in the transforming power of Christ seem to be schlepping along, weighed down all too easily by the worries of the world. And our Creator grieves.

This is not His plan for our lives. His desire is that we strip off every weight that slows us down (Heb. 12:1)—our fears, our doubts, our past, our pride, our self-reliance, our insecurities—so that we can not only walk and not be weary, but that we will actually soar like eagles (Isa. 40:31).

As believers in an omnipotent and trustworthy God, we are not to settle for being ordinary, we are extraordinary; we haven’t just been given life, but abundant life; we are not meant to simply survive, but to thrive; our glass is not merely half-full, but full to overflowing. Ours is a God who, despite what the enemy may use to weigh us down, not only has the ability to do anything we ask, He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or imagine.  

For us to live life to the fullest we must identify, then strip off the things that weigh us down. We must give our burdens to the Burden-bearer. Why keep plodding through life when we were created to soar?

 

(This is an excerpt from my next book, Free to Soar.)

 

 

When God says, "You can do it," fear whispers, No, you can’t."

When God says, "I will give you strength," fear whispers, "God’s not even there."

When God says, "Take a step of faith," fear whispers, "Run away."

Whenever we hear the voice of fear, we can be certain it does not belong to God. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:10, NKJV). 

A sound mind is a disciplined mind; a mind that is focused solely on God and His truth. A sound mind is not distracted by worry and fear. A sound mind is firmly convinced that God is worthy of our trust no matter what circumstances we may face. 

God is not honored by shaky knees and sweaty palms. When we walk in His strength, we can boldly face the challenges of life with the tools He has given us: power, love, and a sound mind.