Do you know someone that is a worrier? Maybe you are! I’m somewhere in the middle of the road. I don’t worry much except when I feel there is a real danger or problem that is far beyond my fixing. For many people, I think worry is just a very bad habit. It can be a “default setting” in life! I’m sure you know that worry is a useless and a very negative reaction to any situation! Worry never changes anything for good, it turns our emotions on end and cannot solve any problem. Let’s look at what God says about worry and how to handle it!
DON’T BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING LET YOUR REQUESTS BE KNOW TO GOD.
AND THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING WILL GUARD YOUR HEART AND MIND IN CHRIST JESUS. Philipians 4:6,7
Sounds so easy, doesn’t it! I know that it is often hard to turn off our worry switch! But, if we do what God commands us to do when we worry we will be a whole lot better off! Most of the time I need to obey God in spite of how I am feeling! Feelings, especially when things are troubling us, can be deceptive and destructive and lead us into more things to worry about! Worry is a deep, dark pit we dig ourselves deeper and deeper into.
Jesus makes the point for the uselessness of worrying…
CAN ANY OF YOU BY WORRYING ADD A SINGLE HOUR TO YOUR LIFE? Matthew 6:27
Worry is a no good, very bad, rotten way to react and live and handle things! Let’s just admit it and start there! God knows exactly what worry is and how it affects us and that is why He tells us not to worry. It’s not good for us!
Okay, then how do we stop worrying? Let’s pull Philippians 4:6,7 (above) apart and look at how God tells us to handle worry.
DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING. I love the Greek meaning in this verse. It gives us a real, honest, God-perspective look at worry. The word “anxious” means…distracted, drawn in opposite directions. It means to be pulled apart in opposite directions by the force of sinful anxiety, which is worry! The word ANYTHING is really the word “nothing”. And the Greek word is very very emphatic… not one, nothing, not a possibility, not even one!
Get the picture? God says, DON’T DO IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!!! Sometimes just reminding ourselves not to worry can really go a long way in stopping this negative behavior.
Now that we know that God does not want us to worry we need to ask ourselves what should we do when we are troubled? Psychologists say that to really brake a bad habit we need to replace it with another behavior… a positive behavior. And that is exactly what God tells us to do.
BUT IN EVERYTHING… now this is a very very interesting Greek word. It means the whole, total, every part, every kind, all. It is a word that looks at the individual parts of a whole. God says IN EVERYTHING… every little, bitty part… in every part of every circumstance.
Now let’s skip ahead in the verse to find… what “EVERYTHING”? IN EVERYTHING MAKE YOUR REQUEST KNOW TO GOD. So, every little bitty part of what you are worrying about should be taken to God. Tell Him EVERYTHING! The words KNOWN TO GOD is to declare something. If you are saying, “God already knows so why do I have to declare it to Him”? Great question!!! God wants us to know and declare that we need His help. He wants us to come to the only Sovereign One that can actually do something about our troubles. We need to exchange our worry out for talking it through with our Father!
But God want us to come to talk to Him in a very special way. In a way that takes the focus off of our worries and give our attention to God and Who He is! God wants us to come to Him in PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING.
PRAYER is earnestly and truthfully and reverently talking to God. That’s it! SUPPLICATION is the idea of being in need and coming to someone with a heat-felt petition rising out of a deep, personal need. I think that wording is so spot on!!!! God knows us and He knows that we worry. He knows we have deep needs… he knows our deepest ones! He wants us to talk them over with Him! Ask Him what to do. He wants us to come freely to Him with THANKSGIVING… grateful for His overflowing grace. He want us to know that we have unmerited favor from Him and because of that favor, no matter the circumstances, we are more than bless and should be thankful!
When we look at our eternal well being and stack it up against our worry how can we not be grateful!!!! And a grateful heart will trust God!
It’s important to say right here that God is not a Genie that grants wishes, or if we do things His way that we will get what we want. God is Sovereign and Eternal and Perfect. He will do what is good for us, even if it is not what we want.
But what God promises when we come to Him is so much bigger and amazing than getting our own way!
God promises to give us PEACE. AND THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING…
The word PEACE is one of my very favorite God-words!!! God’s PEACE carries with it the idea of all the parts, all the loose ends being tied up. Just the opposite of the Greek definition of worry above!
The true meaning of PEACE is WHOLENESS. Wholeness in every aspect. Everything that is you and about you is whole and good and perfect! What a big promise!!! What a tall order for God to fill! But He is more than up to the task! If you really go to God with your troubles and tell Him earnestly about them and pour out your deep need and really think on how God has shown you grace and give Him thanks, then He will give you a wholeness about your trouble that will SURPASS ALL UNDERSTANDING. God will give you a Shalom that is so far above and beyond any human intellect to comprehend or understand!
Believe this. It is true. I have been the recipient of this peace many times.
This above and beyond wholeness will GUARD YOUR HEART AND MIND. Now this is an amazing thought. The word GUARD means to keep military or sentinel guard. God’s PEACE will actively do whatever it take, both offensively and defensively to protect your mind, will, emotion and intellect. In other words, YOUR HEART. God’s peace will protect your from worry, negative thoughts, and the bad habit of giving worry a stronghold. Just keep on with PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING!
The last part of these verses are by far my favorite… IN CHRIST JESUS. The word IN is such a little word but it has deep and rich and beautiful meaning. What IN really means is in a relationship with. Oh, the blessedness of the thought that we could be in an intimate, eternal and close relationship with the very God of the Universe! It is far too much for me to wrap my head around. But it is TRUE!!!!
God wants all of us to be in a relationship with His only Son. And if we are in a relationship with His Son, then we are also in a relationship with God Himself.
This PEACE from worry is offered to all those who claim and believe that Jesus is their LORD (Owner and Creator) and Savior (the only One to save us from our sin which separates us from God) !!! What a gift. Use it! Let’s be free from the worry that causes us so much wasted time and energy.
God’s PEACE, like a military sentinel, will guard our hearts and minds from worry… if we let Him!
This week’s memorization verse…
DON’T BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERYTHING BY PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION WITH THANKSGIVING LET YOUR REQUESTS BE KNOW TO GOD.
AND THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH SURPASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING WILL GUARD YOUR HEART AND MIND IN CHRIST JESUS. Philipians 4:6,7
What a beautiful post. Thank you so much for writing it and putting so much thought into it. The way you explained everything made so much sense and it really spoke to me, and made me remember that yes, I do need to talk to God and tell him that I need his help, and of course I won’t get my way all the time, but that it always turns out the right way because of God’s knowledge and blessings. I really appreciate your post!
Wow! This was spot on. Thank you for being bold about the Word and encouraging us! I love the breakdown of definitions. I came here for some design inspiration, and clicked on this post. So good. Hope to see more!
Amen! Thank you for such a needed reminder, God Bless!
Your post seems written just for me. Of course I’ve always known that as children of God we are instructed not to worry. However, God gave me very few talents, and worrying is one of them. And quite frankly, I’m very good at it! 😉 Guess I need to work on that!
I am so glad I came upon your posts. I am the best worrier I know. It creeps into all parts of my life
and makes me so sad. Your inspiration is just what I needed today. God is wonderful and I realize I don’t turn all my worries over to him. Will try to do better. Thank you so much for your inspiration!
From Decorating Blog to Spiritual Nourishment. This is a just-wow post for us all! What a moment of history we are in: such chaos , atrocities in our daily news; just imagine: slavery in our day and age! And yet Our Holy God is at work. Is there anyone else that was raised in the 60’s shocked as I was regarding the Me-too movement? After mocking God’s standards for sexuality, now women are sharing the underbelly of lax standards, bringing morality/immorality to the light of day. Again look at our news. Actually, there is much in our day to cause worry and fear. Christian movies, like I Can Only Imagine, Paul, the Apostle of Christ and others are gaining favor, even in the eyes of the world. God is pleading with us and Yvonne you are strengthening the troops. We all appreciate it and love you so much! Just a mention about the movie, Paul. Do not expect a story based on the Book of Acts; you will be disappointed. The context of the story is the end of Pauls’ life in the hands of Roman rule. It is not entertainment. But it will show you in stellar performances, not only what Jesus did for us, but what the cost of following Jesus is. Thank you Yvonne for the booster shot of faith each week.
Yvonne, thank you so much for this wonderful post. I have read and memorized that passage so many times and it was so refreshing to have you go through each word and phrase with such clarity. I have made PEACE my word for this year…to have all the loose ends tied up…to be whole.
Thank you for all you do and say. It is so inspiring and encouraging.
Thank you so much for this post. I am struggling with being grateful when I am in so much pain over a couple of difficult situations in my life. I like what you said that a grateful heart will trust God. May God keep my heart soft and have an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude. I know He is my source of hope and peace
Thank you , this was for me today to remind me. I am a worrier. I like how you explained it as a bad habit. I needed this today as I’m coming out of the dark as I have been praying for peace and patience until God takes me where I should be. I lost my job due to a merger two months ago. A job I thought was my dream job. As I look back now, God put me there to save me. I had not had health insurance for 8 years. I got that job effortlessly, by Gods hand. Within 6 months, I was diagnosed with Breast cancer. So you see , God put me there to get insurance to save me from cancer. Without the job, I would not have gone to the dr.
Now I’m looking for another job. I’m praying for patience til He makes it known. The worry has eased lately. I must remember Let go let God.
Thank you Y for this post. I try and remember Matthew 6:25-27.
Please pray for my new job to come swiftly.
Thanks so much for this needed advice. At times, I loose many hours of sleep worrying about all the little things I can’t control. I am sure I will go back to this post when I find myself worrying. Have a wonderful week!
God bless you, Yvonne, for stepping out in faith to share this nugget of Truth.
May He richly bless your designing ministry. You jave certainly blessed all of us.
xo
Amy in Montecito CA
Thank you for this post today, Yvonne. This is my one of my favorite scriptures and I refer to it often. I am a worrier. Despite my faith in God, I let worry get the best of me sometime. I pray about it and try to focus on the joy in my life instead. This past week was one of those worry weeks, but seeing your post today was my message from God to put my focus back on my joy. I will be praying for you this week, Yvonne. Thank you!
My husband passed away recently, and a few days ago, I read your blog after being referred by Ann of Sutton Place. God works in wonderful ways. Your inspirational study of God’s Word today touched my heart, and I love that you are witnessing for Him through your interesting blog.
Thank you.
What a wonderful lesson. You are such an inspiration in so many ways, Yvonne. Thank you for sharing your faith and knowledge of God!
What a beautiful post! It is amazing how we get what we need! Awesome God! Our service this second Resurrection Sunday was devoted to transformation. With God’s grace we can be transformed from being a worrier to being at peace with focus on God. May the Lord bless you today and always.
Very true, thank you.
“A grateful heart will trust God”!!!!!!!!
Love it’!
Thank you so much for this Bible study. This will be a post I will go back to when I begin to worry. We are robbed of the joy Christ wants to give us when we entertain worry. I appreciate you so much, and want to you know that you are a blessing to me through your blog and DTT podcast. May God richly bless you with His bountiful love!!!
Thank you !!!!
I have been struggling with worry all week. I have been praying for relief through understanding. It came today through you Yvonne. Thank you.
Praise God Winni! So happy you have some relief!
Yvonne,
I am a worrier and this is what I have been working on – in the past when I have trusted in my Savior things worked out for the best: no matter if I worried or not! Yes, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. He makes it so easy for us – and I make it harder by resisting His grace. Thanks for always being inspiring.
Yvonne, what a beautiful post. God has a way of putting things in our paths when we need them.
Have a blessed Sunday.
I feel like this post was written just for me! I so struggle with worrying about things I have no control over. I know the Lord has everything under His control. Thank you so much for this post. And thank you for taking God’s word and breaking it down into easy to understand terms. You will never know how much this has helped me.
I want to read this again. I like how you had us look into this verse bit by bit. You had us dig into the original meanings of the words written to get the full meaning of do not worry. These have been favorite verses of mine since my teens. It is good to study verses too. I’m glad you reminded me to pray. God commands it so don’t hesitate.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
💜✝️ Gwen
I really needed to read this today Yvonne. My son is going through a very stressful time right now.
I keep praying for calm, strength and clarity for him. I do see God working in his life and mine.
Once in a while WORRY pops in to my head and I find myself in tears and sleepless. I have gotten better at redirecting my energy to prayer and asking God to hold each of us in his arms.
I will be printing today’s post and reading it daily.
Thank you.