Confession. I have worried on and off my whole life. Now that I’m a totally devoted follower of the Lord Jesus Christ maybe you think I’ve stopped worrying. Still have my sin nature. Worry is sin that needs to be gotten rid of, and I transparently tell you I still struggle terribly with worry. But there is a really big difference. As much as I hate, hate, hate sinning against God and hate, hate, hate the awful feeling of worrying, there is something I have very recently come to LOVE about worry!
I believe the devil loves to see people worry because our hearts are focused on our worries not on God. But I have decided to use worry as an INDICATOR LIGHT that it’s time to PRAY and WHAT TO PRAY ABOUT! So instead of spiraling down into despair, discouragement, panic, and endless obsessive thoughts and fear, fear, and more fear, I am essentially using the worry as a guide in my praying. The devil wants to use worry to take me away from God. Instead, I am using worry to cry out to God and draw closer to Him! I am new at this, mind you, but it’s working wonderfully already and I am bound and determined to carry on with this amazing discovery.
Examples? Worrying about unsaved family members? I pray! Worrying about my senior special needs ministry dogs? Pray! Worrying about the state of this world? Pray! Worrying about a loved one’s health? Pray! Worrying about my next location on the road for Jesus and ministry? Pray! Worrying about all the people I meet who have incredible challenges? Pray! Worrying about ministry issues? Pray! Pray, pray, pray to the Lord, AMEN!
Sure, I wish I would never worry again not once for the rest of my life. But the devil likes to come hard at me with stuff to worry about. Well, his plan has backfired. I am going to keep crying out to the Lord for people and their needs around this world! And I am going to keep drawing closer and closer to THE LORD! Hallelujah!
Got worry? PRAY!
“pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 NKJV