I worry too much!

Do you find yourself worrying too much? I know that I do! There are times where all I do is ponder on all the things that could possibly go wrong. Thinking about all of the hypotheticals of life. Or maybe, you're in a situation that is actually happening that has caused you to worry. I don't know what you are going through right now, but what I do know is that Jesus calls us to trust Him. We find this in the book of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 19-34. Of course, this is very encouraging and seems like the right thing to do. But the truth is, we don't always do it. If fact, we usually worry instead of trust.

Why do we worry so much? What causes our worry? In the scripture that I referenced, Jesus starts off by addressing those who are wealthy, then He begins to address those who are not. Both parties are told to trust in Him and not to worry. There are people with many possessions and those with very little, but both can find themselves worrying. Why is this? Why would someone who has much also deal with worry? My thought is this, could it be that worry is not based on any possession or the lack of them? Could it be that worry is more a perspective than a circumstance?

Think of the story of Peter walking on water. As soon as he took his EYES off of Jesus, He began to sink. Peter began to lose focus of Jesus and focus on the waves, the winds, and the storm. Could that be our problem? Are we worrying so much because our eyes are off of Jesus and looking at everything else going on? I believe this is the issue. I worry when my perspective is off. I find myself worrying when I am no longer looking at Jesus. So if I want to overcome worry in my life, I must begin to focus on Jesus again. My eyes must stay on Him. So no need to worry! Of course, that is much easier said than done. At the root of it, our worry is a trust issue. We have a problem trusting in God.

We find it hard to trust people that we don't feel really care about us. Could it be that we don't really believe that God loves us? We know that He is love; we know He is a loving God. But how can God love ME! I think that's where the issue stands. We don't feel like God loves us, so we don't trust Him.

Let me encourage you. The Lord loves you. He cares for you. He is with you! That is the TRUTH. When I struggled with worry in my life, I began to quote John 4:18: perfect love casts out all fear. If God loves you (which He does), then that means He is watching over you and taking care of you. Don't let condemnation cause you to stop trusting in the Lord. Instead, remember His love for you and trust in His sovereignty.

So don't let worry make a home in your heart. We can overcome worry by putting our trust in Jesus! Worry is not just based on circumstances, but it's based on our perspective. Keep your eyes on Jesus.