“Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.”—Swedish Proverb.
When your WHAT IFS control you.
Do your What ifs control your life? Are you scared of every shadow, every possibility and every sense of dread known to man? Do you get up with worry, carry worry all day long and since it’s been with you for the majority of the day do you decide to just take it to bed with you again every night?
It is said that at least one in four of us, that’s over 65 million Americans, will experience anxiety disorder some time in our life. One in four! That’s a whole lot of anxious people filled with fear, worry, doubt and distress. And the other three might not have a panic attack but you can rest assured they are worriers.
Did you know the Old English origin of the word worry meant to strangle? Even to wring, annoy, bother and vex were some of the earliest versions of the word. And in 1804 it was defined as anxiety arising from cares and troubles.
Is worrying a sin? The Bible doesn’t come right out and specifically say so but if we search scripture we will find that worrying is a clear indication that we are not trusting God with our problems!
“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55:22.
Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount not to worry. “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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” Matthew 6:25.
So, to continue to allow worry and anxiety to dominate our everyday life is surely a lack of trust and confidence in the One who created us with purpose in the first place!
Isn’t it amazing as a child of God that we can believe He is able to save us, gave His life for us, redeemed us and will come back to take us to our eternal home but we can’t find enough trust and faith in Him to carry us through the day?
If we can trust God with the big things, such as salvation, do we not think He is capable of handling the day to day worries of our lives?
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:6-8.
Peter tells us to let God handle our problems because He cares. But looking at the rest of the verse, isn’t he saying if we worry that we are fair game for the enemy? If we allow worry and anxiety to be a regular part of our diet the enemy has gained a foothold into our minds, and little by little, he will gain more control until we are easily devoured and deceived.
Controlled by your circumstances or casting your care?
How will you choose to live out your life? With worry and dread, consumed with what might happen and what could happen or would it not be much easier, less stressful even, to give those worries to a God that never slumbers or sleeps? He invites you to surrender and let Him handle the issues that keep you awake at night. When we learn to hand them over to Him, and realize we have no control over them anyway, we can rest in peace that all is well. He sees down the road and has our best interest in mind!
Remember that worry is a lack of faith and trust in God.
Spend time in His Word every day, take the time to pray every day and get to know Jesus, who gave His life for you and promises you eternal life.
And if you can trust Him with your eternity isn’t it safe to say He can handle what you face today?
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22, 23 ESV.
Sharing with Making your home sing, Good morning Mondays, UNITE, Testimony Tuesday, Titus 2uesday, Titus 2 Tuesday, #RaRA linkup, Wedded Wednesday, A Little R & R, Wholehearted Wednesday. Grace and Truth, Faith Filled Friday, Blessings Counter, Dance with Jesus
Always happy to have you Cindy and thank you for Amaze me Mondays!
Beautiful reminder of where to cast our worries…so comforting!
Thanks so much for sharing at AMAZE ME MONDAY!
Blessings,
Cindy
Oooh…transition…took me years to remember it’s only a SEASON. God is always there and will be our strength if we let Him. Blessings to you!!
Loved your post on buying in bulk!! Pinned!
Hello Victoria! So happy you stopped by. Let it go…let it go…♫♫♪♫♪ let God take control of that worry and anxiety. In Jesus’ name!
Ha ha! What if I sleep through my alarm…lol at that one. You are so right…One day at a Time. Blessings to you! I am heading over to your place! ♥
You hit the nail on the head Anastasia! It is NOT fun to live with constant worry and dread. We need to get to the point that we trust Him regardless. Praying that both of us will LIVE that way! ♥
Great post, Nannette! What a blessing to visit with you tonight! So awesome to have had the pleasure of connecting with you! Peace and many blessings to you, Love! 🙂
I’m more anxious than I’m not, and along with that comes worrying more than I should, Nannette. So your post just busted me for not having enough faith in the Lord, my friend! But it’s a good “busting” because I needed this reminder. Great insights in several places. Loved this!
This is such a great post. I think we all struggle with anxiety and worry to a degree. I love the original word definition-well I don’t love that it means to strangle, but I love that you did that. I love bumping in to you on these linkups-found you today at Messy Marriage.
This is a great reminder of where to go for truth and how to let worry go by turning to the truth – God. The world is coming at us from so many different directions and when that happens we try to keep up but we are just asked to put all our trust in God and He will see us through. Thank you for these words. Good to see you at Messy Marriage today!
OK, this is one of those posts that I love/hate. I love it because it’s speaking directly to where my struggles have been lately. I “hate” it because it convicted me about where I’ve been struggling lately. Ya know?! Worry and anxiety do control me often, and yes, *what ifs* are strangling. My daily prayer is that God will strengthen my trust muscles, and give me the courage to let go of what I cannot control anyway.
GOD BLESS!
Oh yes… there was a time and a season where I was controlled by What If’s and If Only’s… worry and regret… until He pointed out that What If’s are worry about the future, and If Only’s are regret or worry about the past but He is the I Am… He is right here, right now and as you said – He can handle it! Great post!
Controlled by your circumstances or casting your care – thanks for that! I am most definitely as “what if” kind of person. Worry creeps in far too often! Thanks for writing honestly about this and pointing us all to Jesus. 🙂
Looking back, I see that the great transition times in my life brought me anxiety – going off to college, living alone in a big city, adjusting to married life, becoming a mom….
Hi there! Visiting from Titus 2 Tuesday!
This post is so true! I have a 4 month old son (first child) and I can’t seem to stop worrying…
I give it to God over and over again, but I always find a way to take it back.
Great reminders here for why I need to really let it go!
Thank you!
Victoria
Oh boy those what ids. What if he’s the one? What of he’s NOT the one? And greatest tragedy-What if I sleep through my alarm.!! One day at a time Sweet Jesus. Thank you. Always love to stop by for your Words of Wisdom. Visiting this week from A Proverbs 31 Wife link. Feel free to visit back anytime.
I didn’t worry so much until I got married and had children. Now it seems to be a normal thing but I have been working on giving over my fears to the Lord because its not a fun way to live. You’re right, we can trust Him in all things because we trust Him with our salvation. Great point, thanks!
Visiting from Living Proverbs 31 link-up!