Worry is Not Your Friend

by Joanne Ellison

05.04.20

Good morning making space for God friends. Today we are going to look at the subject of worrying. Throughout the years my Mother told me that worrying is a sin. I always rolled my eyes until recently when I pondered what she meant by that. The Greek word for sin is amartia which means missing the mark. In light of that definition of sin, worry is missing the mark. The mark we need to hit is peace. And Jesus assured us that He would give us peace:

I am leaving you with a gift– my peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27 NLT)

We have been given the gift of peace in our relationship with Jesus, but the enemy throws his weight of worry right into our inner space. His currency is anxiety and worry. The kingdom of God’s currency is supernatural peace and joy. So Mother was right. When we worry we are off the mark of the kingdom of God because the kingdom is peace, righteousness and joy. (Romans 14:17)

As we have navigated our way through this pandemic, we have all experienced fear and anxiety. Just walking into a grocery store produced anxiety for me as I donned my mask and gloves and then discovered I could not see or breathe! Apparently I did not have the mask on correctly:) Or maybe I had the wrong kind of mask on!

The uncertainty of the future tries to grip our hearts but our hearts are meant for peace.

I once heard it said that if worry does not add something to your life but only takes something away, why worry? It is a joy stealer. So what do we do when worry comes knocking on our door? When….

Our children are ill and we fear for them

We have lost our jobs

Our “death do we part” marriage falls apart

Our security is shaken

What to do with worry?

Get to the root of your worry. Examine your heart (Psalm 139) and discover the source.
Be intentional to refuse the lies concerning your worry and instead acknowledge truth and facts
Rightly divide the Word concerning your circumstances

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

The enemy is a liar. God alone will speak truth to your heart. God alone will bring peace to reign even though circumstances defy the odds.

Worry is a joy stealer. Worry sets us up for failure on all fronts. It weighs us down with fear and impossibilities. The Holy Spirit lifts our worry and releases hope and possibilities.

Friends, this has been a season of worry. Let’s not waste what the Lord is doing in our hearts in this season. He is teaching us to throw off every obstacle that robs us of peace.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race set before us. (Hebrews 12:1).