stephen R Harrison

Here’s a big confession: I often worry. Not about a lot of little things but mainly about big things. Like a phone call about a little girl who possibly had a cancerous tumor behind her eye or the family that just lost everything in a fire. Now don’t get me wrong here, my worry always turns to trust but sometimes that takes time and my initial response isn’t what I know it should be. Rarely does my worry turn into panic but I so desire every initial response to be “I trust God’s got this”. Worry can bring discouragement, fear, and chaos. Who wants that?

How do I combat worry and practice trust? I have this practice when worry competes for my thoughts. I recite a set of verses and phrases I memorized. Fret not, God loves you (Jesus loves His own in the world to the end – John 13:1); Faint not, God holds you (His hand will lead and hold me – Psalm 139:10); and Fear not, God keeps me (God is my keeper – Psalm 121:5). Those verses and statements – Fret not, Faint not, Fear not – help to sooth my soul and place my eyes back on my God who loves me and is all powerful.

I’ve learned worry never works. Never. Sometimes I worry about time-frames and deadlines but Jesus said we couldn’t add a single hour to our lives (Luke 12:25). That means I must make the most of the time (be a good steward) I already have. He went on to say if I can’t add and shouldn’t worry about an hour, why worry about the rest of my time (v. 26)? I have to trust Him with time, and if you think about it, that covers everything. God is timeless (Job 36:26). Another fact about worry I must remember is that wastes my time. While I’m worrying during that time – I lose that time! And that worry never fixes anything. Never.

Worry lies to us and says, “Hurry up, you need an answer now”. But God is perfect in His timing. Jesus raised from the dead but took three days to do it. He raised Lazarus from the dead but took four days to do it. The point is He raises dead things not the “in between time”. We, too often, can worry about where God is in the middle of trouble but He is always there and has a plan. Trust in Him and know He has a plan. Remember this: Your feelings are not always facts. Facts are God’s Word is true! We must stop worrying and start reading, obeying, praying, and trusting.

Need some Scripture to cast out worry? Here are a couple great ones: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17); “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).