I believe in a perfect, always listening and ever-present God. Yet, God created us as His perfectly imperfect children. One of my imperfections and probably yours too is worry.
What good does worry accomplish for me? For you? What are the benefits of worrying?
The most annoying aspect of worry is that it happens at the most inappropriate and inconvenient times. Like when I am trying to enjoy family time, or watching a movie or when I should be enjoying the moment. When I should be fully present in the now; but I am hijacked to a far off location. A place where my mind thinks way too much but nothing is ever accomplished. The rocking chair rocks faster and faster but goes nowhere.
Even worse is when that worry begins at night. I just lie in bed. Then, a little worry begins and it grows and grows until I am consumed by it. Sleep is no longer possible. The frustrating thing about worry is that in the middle of the night I am completely unable to do anything about what bothers me. I am robbed of sleep. That allows worry to take greater hold of me the next time.
Attorneys like me have a common suffering. It is the night before a trial. Even if one is fully prepared, as sleep should begin the questions pop up. “Am I really ready? What will the judge think of my advocacy? Will the jury care about me, my client or the case? Will my client appreciate how I try the case? Even though I am a collaborative divorce attorney I worry about those I serve and what personal struggles there are navigating. The crescendo of anxiety causes me to climb an insurmountable wall of worry. Boy do I need an escape ladder to get me safely down from that wall.
That escape ladder for me is prayer. Relief from prayer is free and immediate. We may not be able to do something about what we are obsessing on at the time. But God is always listening and God can handle what we cannot. In the light of day. In the darkness at 2:00 am. That escape ladder is not acquired on QVC. It is our lifeline given to us from God. That is why I pray to God every time every day when worry gets the best of me. Prayer is always the answer for me to find the still, quiet place to be with God and others.
What if each of us could just surrender our worries to God? What if our first action to all our worries was to pray to God? What if our worries were surrendered to and borne by God alone? What would that escape ladder mean to you? To me? The result would be that you and I would surely receive the peace from God that passeth all understanding.
God has spoken to us in Scripture about finding God’s peace.
Philippians 4:6-7, 9
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus…….. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Let us pray together.
Dear God, in prayer please help us to surrender to You all our worries and the anxieties which cause us distress.
God, please empower us to let go of the things we worry about and let us trust in You to bear what we cannot.
God, thanks for hearing our prayers and granting us thereby Your heavenly peace on Earth so that we can be fully present in our service to You and to our brothers and sisters in Your name, now and forever. Amen
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