I Must Choose Not To Worry

        Do you sometimes catch yourself worrying?  I do. It seems with all the bad news I hear daily, it is difficult not to become fearful.  I begin to worry about what might happen and how I will cope with it if it does.  I then have to make a conscious effort to remind myself that I belong to God and that He has given me/us wonderful promises in His word about His care and protection for me/us.

        I begin to repeat His promises to myself:  "I will never leave you or forsake you," "Nothing is impossible with God," "He gives only good gifts to His children," "God is good all the time," "He works all things together for the good of those who love Him."

      One of the most helpful passages for me to remind myself of, though, is Matt. 6:25-33:  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

    “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."  What a wonderful promise!  When I am reminded that God sees and cares about every detail of the smallest things He has created, how can I worry?  He created me. I am His, just as the flowers of the field are His.  Being reminded of this always helps me get my mind off my abilities to change the world and my circumstances, and get it back where it belongs on the One who created the world and holds it in His hands.

    Joseph Prince says, "My friend, when you worry, you are actually believing that the devil has the power to make inroads into your life that God cannot protect you from.  But when you refuse to worry, you are putting your faith in God.  You have more confidence in His love and power working for you than in the devil's ability to harm you!"

     I choose to put my faith in God's ability to protect and care for me instead of the devil's ability to harm me, don't you?  I choose to seek His kingdom and His righteousness and I expect that He will do just as He has promised.  
     And I need to remind myself of this daily!