My Little Friend Worry

There are certain times when I tend to be what some might call a ‘worry wart’. I think of all the worst case scenarios and live as though they are going to happen. Worry comes to me like a little friend who is happy to talk with me as much as I want. Although I knew that entertaining worry didn’t bring me joy and peace, I kind of saw it as a casual friendship – like the familiar relationship you might have with somebody you work with. You, know, it would be un-neighborly to ignore worry when it’s right next to you all the time.

However, recently my perspective began to change when we went on our first "family" vacation without our two oldest children who had to stay at home to work. Though I was confident that they were capable of taking care of the house, feeding themselves, and getting up in time for work, the thought of my 17-year-old driving his motorcycle back and forth to work and my 19-year-old hopping here and there in his car threatened to ruin my vacation - especially knowing that we were going to be 5 hours away. As I lay awake in our tent the first night it suddenly dawned on me that by turning to my "friend" worry instead of trusting God that I was essentially being a functional atheist. I was saying that I trust God, but when it comes down to it – to the things that are important to me - not trusting Him at all. By fretting, I'm saying that God's not in control.

It was then that I realized that my little "friend," was no friend at all; as a matter of fact, worry had become a cruel master. I was enslaved to it. It wasn't until, by the grace of God, I was finally convicted that fretting was a sin – an abomination to God - that I was able to begin the battle. I stopped saving a seat for worry and got out the sword of the Word.

So the battle began. Every time worry showed up, I did not let it linger. Instead I cried out to God to forgive me for worrying and asked Him to care for my children. I acknowledged His sovereignty and as 1 Peter 5:7 says, I cast my cares fully upon Him. Little by little I felt the grip of my taskmaster weaken and my confidence in God strengthen.

Because of the grace of God, I was able to overcome the fear that threatened to destroy my vacation. As I turned to God instead of worry, I was flooded with peace and joy. My "friend" had been exposed for what it was – an enemy in disguise.

How about you? Has this "respectable sin" called worry become your friend? If so, let the battle begin. In Christ, we are guaranteed a victory! "Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” Psalm 37:8b