DEFEATING THE WORRY HABIT
Matthew 6:31-34
The Bible has a lot to say about the negative impact of worry in our lives. Worry is the practice of meditation in the negative realm. Worrying is imagining the future in a negative way. We don’t worry about things that have already happened—only things that we fear might happen. Worry pictures the bills going unpaid, the promotion at work passing us by, or the pain in our chest becoming a heart attack. When we worry, we yield the power of our minds to imagine the worst outcome possible in every situation.
Worry destroys faith. We become focused on our fears instead of God’s plans and the possibilities He offers for our lives. Worry keeps us trapped in fear and avoidance. It never solves or resolves anything. This is why the Bible tells us to exchange our worried imaginations with targeted prayer requests. Instead of letting our fears and problems marinate in our minds, we are to take action by bringing them to God in prayer.
Only God has the power to change our circumstances. When we pray, God comes to our aid. He exchanges our fear and worry for His peace in our minds, and our weakness in the face of our trouble transforms into a strong and renewed faith in our hearts in God’s sovereign plan for us.
For example, instead of worrying about an upcoming bill or a negative medical report, turn the problem into an opportunity to exercise your faith through prayer. God already knows the problem so make this a time in which you can speak His Word over your situation. As you do, ask God for wisdom, help, direction, or healing. Add a generous amount of heartfelt thanksgiving and your prayer will release the power of the Holy Spirit over your situation. Your faith has dislodged your fear.
MEMORY VERSE; Php 4:6-7
MEDITATION: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee(Isaiah 26:3)
