Worry or Pray-The Choice is Yours

"Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." (Philippians 4:6-7 MSG).

I use to be a world class worrier! If there was something to be concerned about, I’d find it and stew over it. If there wasn’t something to be concerned over, I’d invent something and worry about that! Studies show that the vast majority of things people worry about are past events that cannot be changed (60% of worry falls into this category) and 30% of the things we worry about are future possibilities that may not even happen! I had my 90% bad!

Then I realized something. Worry is not a psychological problem but a theological problem. Worry is the opposite of trust. Worry spurns God’s promises of protection and provision and causes us to act as if God doesn’t exist.

I am told that a blinding fog enough to cover seven city blocks to a height of 100 feet, actually contains less than one glass of water. Think of it. One glass of water atomized into sixty thousand droplets can virtually blind a seven city block area!

Worry can do that as well. Michael Youseff ways, "One small worry fogs up your whole consciousness. It creeps into every corner, distracting your attention, making you underperform, spoiling your enjoyment of life. A small glass of worry goes a long way." He’s right. Been there, done it, have the medical records to prove it!

When I discovered that worry was a problem of the soul more than a problem of the mind, that aspect of my life quickly and radically changed. Today my wife thinks I live in Oz because I seem to worry so little! I do not live in Oz, my place of refuge is much safer and real. I live in the confidence that what God promised He will do!

Perhaps worry has a hold of you today. Why not make a radical change? "Instead of worrying pray." In fact, let your worry be your catalyst to pray. That plan certainly helped me! Worry changes nothing, but prayer can change anything–even the consequences of past failures!