By Pastor Andrew Farland
If left to my own devices, I can worry about almost anything. My family, my future, my health, a loved one’s health, debt, student loans. You name it and I promise I can get worried about it pretty quickly. Honestly, if I spend more than 30 minutes watching the news or reading the headlines from my favorite news site, my blood pressure spikes, and my heart races. “Armageddon is here!” I think to myself.
Can you relate? Is there anything going on in your life that causes you to worry?
Let’s be clear. Worry is not a sin. In 1 Peter 5:7, the author says to “cast all your anxiety on God because He cares for you.” God assumes we will all have worry. He knows we will all have anxiety. But, God wants us to live the best life possible. John 10:10 calls this a “fullness of life.”
How do we find this kind of life? How do we live free from enslavement to worry?
Let go of what you can’t control!
Allow that to sink into your spirit for a moment.
Think about it. We typically worry about things we have absolutely no control over. We can’t control the health of our family. We have no say in how people will treat us at work tomorrow. And we certainly can’t control what our world leaders will do this week to create anxiety in all of us. But, we can control how much we are willing to let go.
If we want to conquer worry, we should ask ourselves three questions. I call them the 3 R’s:
Reality – What are the chances that this will happen?
Responsibility – What can I do about it?
Release – What’s leftover that I can’t control?
Releasing to God what we can’t control is the most effective way to overcome the worry in our lives. So, what are you worried about? What is it that you can’t control? Offer it up to God today and begin to live in freedom.
Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Be encouraged today because God is with you.
