An Alternative to Worry - The Crosswalk Devotional - April 11
An Alternative to Worry
By Kelly Balarie
Bible Reading:
“Be anxious for nothing. But, in everything, with prayer and petition, and thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then, perfect peace which transcends understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ. Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV
As we pulled around the circle to the airport, a sign reading “Terminal” caught my attention.
Frankly, I was headed to the airport because I needed to fly to another city to handle a terrible, no-good, rotten situation. This issue was one of my greatest fears, and it felt like I was realizing it. The second I saw the sign, I thought, “Oh no, my situation is terminal.”
I wondered if others, like me, saw that sign upon riding into the airport and figured their issue was terminal. Maybe someone with cancer was headed for treatment and saw the airport sign saying, “Terminal.” Did their heart sink, too? Perhaps another was headed to see a child who had just been checked into a drug rehab. Did the sign seem to declare demise over their kid – “It’s going to be terminal.”
Maybe, like me, these people thought, I won’t make it. This will be the end of me. Everything will not work out. How do I plan for the worst, worst-case scenario?
The sign was a harbinger of fear to come, of agony, of despair, of worry, of torture. I was headed right into “The Terminal.”
Suddenly, my mind went into planning mode, thinking: Here’s how I will tackle this, here's how I am going to beat it, here’s what will happen.
It seemed like it would be a good idea to control things, but – the issue was that all my best-case planning did nothing to prevent this worst-case scenario from happening. How can all my bunker planning save anything? Frankly, God showed me – even when I think I have no control, I think I have control.
Human nature makes us think we can manage life, but sometimes, life hits us.
Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until life punches them in the face.”
Are you facing a terminal situation in your life -- financially, emotionally, physically, mentally, in your family, internally, professionally?
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Aside from worrying, what is there left to do? Aside from disaster planning, how can one manage? Apart from catastrophizing, how do you make it through the day?
I’ve been considering these things, and I’ve noticed that God, in His infinite goodness, gives us an action plan.
“Be anxious for nothing. But, in everything, with prayer and petition, and thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then, perfect peace which transcends understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ. Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7 NKJV)
The first step is to choose not to be anxious. It is to make a decisive, line-in-the-sand decision not to worry. How? By repenting and changing course, the first second shows up.
The second step is to pray and ask God for our needs. We can ask Him.
Third, we thank Him for hearing us, knowing the best path, and guiding us to answers and hope.
What happens after this? God takes over. He gives us perfect peace. Notice, though, that peace transcends understanding. God shows us that it is not necessary to understand every detail of our problem. This shows us why worry is worthless. Worry is carnal understanding that ruminates, figures, and plans. Peace is a transcendent understanding that surpasses earthly circumstances so that it knows God already has them handled.
God gives us a choice. We can worry and figure things out without Him or pray and petition Him. One leads to anxiety and fear, while the other offers peace that transcends our carnal mindset.
Which will we choose?
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Peace is not something we fight for; it is something Jesus left us. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV) How can you let go of the world and all its pressure to receive in your heart this peace that Jesus left you?
Further Reading:
How to Overcome Anxiety with God
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/aaker
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Related Resource: 3 Simple Steps to Manage Your Emotions
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