I draft out my posts, when possible, days ahead of time, and I drafted out two – this one on worry and joy, and another on heavenly places last week., and another on know, I know! That’s not how the song goes. But here’s the thing – joy is far better than happy.

I know that’s easy to say, so I’ll show you. This is this post that I’m writing now, (notice the last modified date).

And this is the second one I mentioned. Similarly, look at the last modified date.

The last week has been very eventful. A lot has happened, good and bad, and I’m glad that I didn’t post these back then when I wanted to because God has an interesting sense of timing, and the context of what I would have written changed, because we’re all coming from a different perspective.

I was actually feeling guilty that I didn’t post, because for me this is day #14 of my 30 Days of Faith, and everyone else who was looking forward to the series is only now getting Day #5, but I believe now there was purpose in it.

Let’s talk about worry…

For a lot of people, they would be joyous if there wasn’t so much to worry about. Life has a way of creeping in and filling our spaces with sicknesses, financial obligations, adversarial people, tragedy, and all kinds of situations and circumstances that not only distract us, but demand and command our attention, and robs us of our focus.

And as soon as we think we’ve got a handle on things, there is sure to be something else, and there is always something else.

So, how do you stop worrying?

There was a very timely sermon from Tony Evans today that I want to share, but before I do I want to share two very important principles that will help you to not worry, but also empower you in a way that affects your whole life.

Principle 1: Worry Is A Sin.

I know that’s a strong statement to make but it really is. Over and over again in the bible we are warned to not worry because God will provide and keep His promises.

Matthew 6:25 tells us not to worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body. And then in verse 34 of that same chapter it says do not worry about tomorrow.

In Luke 12:24-28, we’re told to consider the ravens and the flowers, how they never have to toil and God provides.

Throughout the bible, the solution for worry is to trust God, and worrying shows that we don’t trust God to keep His promises, but more than that, it means that we were looking to someone or something else for our provision.

And when you look to anything else for provision, that is idolatry. So for me, worry is rooted in sin, and I repent of it.

Now, that leads to the second principle.

Principle 2: Who Is Your Source?

If you really understand this principle, it will change the direction of your future. Now that you know worry is a sin the next question is, how do you stop from worrying? Because as we said, life keeps coming and there’s always something else.

Here it is – Don’t just trust God to provide; Make God your only source.

Put God in a position to where He’s the first person you ask, and give Him the final say in everything you do. Make Him the highest and ultimate authority.

When you make God your only source for everything; when you structure your life so that God is over everything like finances, health, relationships, and everything else – everything and everyone else becomes a resource that God uses to fulfill His promises and provides.

Suddenly, your boss at work can’t hold your paycheck over your head because your job and your boss isn’t the source of your income. God is. He’s just using the job and your boss to provide.

When you’re sick, a diagnosis can’t be held over your head because the doctors and the hospital aren’t your source of health. God is. He’s just using the hospital and the doctors to provide.

Understand that when you put Jesus Christ as the first and last authority in your life, if the Father says yes, then the world can’t say no, because they do not have the final say. God does, and if you’re living in such a way that you’re in alignment with Christ, the Lord will provide.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are concerns that we will have, but those concerns will never escalate and become worries because you have a heavenly Father that always keeps His word. So believe Him, and live out that belief.

That is what we call faith – believing God. Or, as once was said by Tony Evans, “faith is acting as if it is so, even if it’s not so, in order that it might be so, simply because God said so“.

Stop worrying.

An Exercise To Help With Worry.

Now, it’s one thing to say worry is a sin, and it’s one thing to make God your source, but how do you actually deal with worry?

One thing about me people notice is that I don’t worry about anything, ever… at all, and the thing that helped me to stop were the two principles I just shared, and a simple exercise that I created for myself.

Basically, what I do is:

• I pray to make sure I’m confessed and repented so that my sin doesn’t interfere with the relationship between me and Jesus. Sin gets in the way of that relationship so I want to make sure there is no personal sin that I haven’t dealt with.
• I take out a piece of paper and I make a list of all of my problems; the troubles I’m facing, the challenges I have, and everything that is a concern., and then I make a list of my problems.
• Once I’ve made my initial list, I take each item on the list and I write down things I think I can do to solve it. I really think here and put some effort into it.
• Then, when I’m done with that, I pray over the list, asking God what He wants me to.
• Then I make a list for each item about what I can do. Then I pray over the list and ask God to show me what He wants me to do.

Sometimes the answer is on the list, sometimes it’s not, but whatever God says to do, I do, and if there is nothing I can do about it, I turn it over to Him, and I put it out of my mind. I trust God to take care of it.

That way, I’m never thinking about problems. I always have something to do and I’m always trusting God above all.

Now, the reason for me making a list and writing everything down is because one of my worry triggers was having too much in my head to think about. It was exhausting and many times left me more confused and frustrated than the problem itself.

Making the list was my way of getting the noise out of my head so I could focus and think clearly, and at the end of the exercise it brought me peace because there were no “what if” or “what about”-type thoughts remaining. So, spend some time brainstorming on that solutions step where you think about everything you can do.

The more time you spend there, the less of those kinds of thoughts you have.

Sermon Time

As I said, Tony Evans has a timely sermon this morning, and I was quite happy with it because it was on this topic, and honestly, that’s one of the reasons I knew that today was the right day to resume writing.