My pastor tweeted something once that went something like this…
“Worry is temporary atheism. An absence of trust in God and His timing.”
And I was like, “Whoa, now there’s some conviction.”
I wouldn’t describe myself as a worry wart, but I do obsess over things.
I find myself hitting refresh on my email or a certain private Facebook group, fretting over something that is absolutely beyond my control.
Here’s the thing.
My worry does not help.
My obsessing doesn’t serve to speed up the process.
All it does is drive me insane.
Worry begets worry. Obsession begets obsession.
There are times when I just need to step away. Get out of my own head. Play with my son. Hug my husband.
Shift my focus away from all these things I cannot control to the One who controls all things.
The One who holds the entire universe in His hand.
Do I trust in that God?
Do I trust in His timing?
Do I trust that He is good, no matter what?
Do I trust that He has me on the journeys He has me on for a reason?
Can I let the rest go?
What would life be like – for real – if we did not waste our energy and our emotions on things we cannot control? What would life be like – for real – if we trusted Him at all times? Through every hiccup. Through every setback. Through every unknown. Through every agonizing wait. Through every heartbreak. Believing with confidence that His plan is best and through all things (from the small and annoying to the huge and all-encompassing), He is working.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You. ~Isaiah 26:3
Let’s Talk: Why do you think it’s so easy to obsess over things we ultimately have no control over? What would it be like if we didn’t?
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Thanks for a great post, Katie. As a charter member of Worry Warts Anonymous, I need reminders like this. I know God is in control and that He wants the very best for me, but it can be oh, so tempting to try and help Him along at times.
Wow.
For moi, I worry because there is no plan in place for the unknown. Although, I don’t worry about much, actually, but when I do, I go BIG.
As a redhead who’s spent untold amounts of time in the sun, waiting for that biopsy??? Oh yeah, Oscar worthy worry.
But God had mercy, I am fine.
Powerful tweet! Really convicting.
I recently heard that when I doubt God’s goodness, I doubt who God is. OUCH!
I don’t want to doubt God. I don’t want to take away from who He is. God is for me…so why do I sometimes act as if He isn’t?
I wrote a post a while back about being addicted to worry.
Super post, Katie! We all need this reminder–often.
What a timely post! I am waiting to hear on a job offer and I have been a mess for the last week. I will hopefully get the final news today, but this post (and I have read it 3 times now) is helping me calm down. I am fairly new in my faith journey and trusting God and His plan is something that I am REALLY working on. I love your blog and thank you for writing this post.
I love your line, “Worry is temporary atheism.” That’s a showstopper that derails lots of purposeless thought processes right there. Thank you.
Wow, yeah, that quote. Holy smokes. Convicting is right. I’ve never been much of a worrier, either. But obsession? Give me a project and a deadline and out it comes in spades. Thanks so much for this breath of fresh air today, my Friend.
I need to “shift my focus”…It’s more difficult when you do not know what’s next or if you have no clue how you’re going to meet needs…but you’re right, worry is not trusting God.
Oh this post is so beyond needed. 🙂 I think a lot of times I actually think I’m pretty good at not worrying…but what I’m really doing is shoving worry to the back of my mind where it just sits and festers instead of facing it head on…replacing it with the truth that God is bigger than my concerns and more than able to handle it all.
I actually heard once that worry is actually a sign of pride…because it’s thinking we can actually control things. That hit me hard. 🙂
I’m thinking it’s time for all of us to unite and wage WAR against worry. Seriously. If we were to look at it as a battle, I think we’d be so much more proactive about fighting it!
Reminds me of that powerful blog post awhile back by Jessica Patch – about the armor of God and using scripture to cut off the tongue of Satan when he whispers lies. One of my all-time favorite blog posts ever.
I come from a family of worriers and it’s so unproductive. It takes the pleasure out of today and ruins tomorrow also. There is asolutely nothing we can do about anything we worry over, so why do we do it? We live in the flesh, I suppose, is the only answer. Jesus told us in Matthew not to worry about tomorrow for tomorrow has enough worries of its own. I’ve been in situations where I’ve just torn myself to pieces worrying and then things turned out just fine. Then I kick myself and promise to God I’ll do better. I’ve promised God that I’m seriously going to try my best to do better this year. I’ve heard the rocking chair quote many times before and it’s so true. Worrying tires you out spiritually and weakens your walk with Christ. Worry is a sin. A quote I heard once is true, too: “Worry is interest paid on money not yet borrowed.” Blessings to you all.
Whoa – I LOVE that quote! And Susan, I was doing the EXACT same thing two nights go. Stirring myself up into a frenzy of worry over something that hadn’t even happened yet and the next day, I discovered all that worry was for naught. The thing I was worrying over didn’t come to pass. In fact, God did even MORE than I had hoped for. 🙂
Here’s the odd thing: Even though I know worrying doesn’t accomplish anything, mulling and planning and doing all the “what iffing” feels like I’m accomplishing something.
Worrying provides the facade of control.
And I needed this post today, Katie.
Thank you.
Beth – my husband loves the quote that says “Worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.” You’re so right – it’s all a facade.
Our internal “life editor” is over worked and underpaid, while the whisper of the Spirit is something we need to tune-into—-speaking to myself here! 🙂
Thanks for the reminder Katie!
Anne:
I need to dial back on my internal “life editor.”
Love that turn of phrase.
I love that phrase too!