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I’m sure you recognize the most useless and unproductive thing most of us do very often is to worry, and yet we worry. I’m talking about the little things—the little foxes—that often steal our joy and make us miserable.
How do we let go of worrying? Is it really possible to come to a place where we truly don’t waste time worrying? After all, life is full of worrying things, and are we supposed to be cavalier and nonchalant, as though those things don’t bother us at all?
Jesus fully understands our propensity to worry, and he addressed it strongly in his Sermon on the Mount. Basically, he said don’t worry about your life—what you eat, what you wear, or where you will live—because your heavenly Father promises to provide what you need. Jesus said,
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Matthew 6:34).
Worrying is totally worthless, but even more than that, worrying is faithless! I just don’t think we often put worry into the category of sin, do we? We worry and worry and never think to apologize to God and repent of this sin of worrying. Paul wrote,
Everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23b).
Worrying does not come from faith. Therefore, continually worrying about anything is a sin. Worrying can become addictive. You can get into such a rut of worrying that you are in worry mode most all the time. If you truly want to get over worrying, the first thing you need to do is to confess your worrying sins. What do you worry about most? Here are some common ones:
- Paying the bills
- Finding a cure for a health issue
- Finding a job
- Finding a mate
- Trying to control something or someone
- How to control your children/mate/siblings/parents
- How will you be able to retire
What is on your list? I encourage you to ask God to forgive you for anything you worry about and be specific. As you learn you can, by God’s grace, get rid of that little fox, it will encourage you to continue to let go of worrying.