“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?” (Luke 12:25-26 NLT)
I am a worrier. I have spent a staggering amount of time and energy in useless worry. I wrap anxiety around me like a familiar blanket, but it gives me no comfort. It is an old, scratchy blanket full of holes. I get tangled up in it. I’m suffocated by its heaviness. It prevents me from doing what I need to do.
“Faith for Jesus is the opposite of anxiety. If you are anxious, if you are trying to control everything, if you are worried about many things, you don’t have faith, according to Jesus. You do not trust that God is good and on your side.” (Richard Rohr)
Many of us operate under the illusion that we are in control of our lives. We make plans and execute them to the best of our ability. We invest time and energy into shaping our circumstances according to our wishes. We use prayer as a method of recruiting God into filling in the gaps that we can’t manage on our own. Anxiety stems from our desire to be in control. However, since we have no real control over anything, worrying is completely unproductive. Faith is the opposite of anxiety. Faith allows us to trust in God completely, to let go of our illusions, and to submit to God’s will.
Jesus, help me to stop this useless habit of worrying. Enable me to trust You completely. Free me from anxiety so that I may follow you and live according to Your intentions.
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