devotionals on worry

Worry Warts

Posted on by Betsy

Did you know that over 40 million people a year struggle with some type of anxiety disorder? From Generalized Anxiety Disorder to PTSD, there are many types of anxiety disorders, and it is the most common mental illness. And for the most part, it is treatable.

While most of us probably don’t fit in to an anxiety disorder category, it can be said of all of us that we worry. And some of us worry too much. Worrying is both a symptom and a catalyst for anxiety and can absolutely overwhelm you to the point of paralysis. When we worry, our joy is stolen, our peace is non-existent, and our well-being suffers, along with those around us.

The root cause of much of our anxious worrying is fear. When we are afraid of something, we turn that fear into negative thoughts and run through multiple scenarios of what could go wrong. And there are so many things that we fear! 

Rejection

Failure

Abandonment

Exposure

Being manipulated

Losing someone or something precious

Losing control

Accidents

Not getting things finished

Being hurt in a relationship

And on, and on, and on.

Did you know that God does not give us fear? Nope. Fear is not from God. We manage that all on our own.

2 Timothy 17 (Modern English Version)

7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control.

I think a clue for how to battle worry is found in what God does give us. Instead of fear, he gives us power. His power is available to us to help us in our problem-solving. Instead of fear, he gives us love, the strongest emotion a human can give or receive. There is strength for the battle in love. And perhaps most importantly, he gives us self-control, so that when worrying begins to overtake us, we can clang shut that nonsense and focus on things that are going right and the many places we have been blessed.

Power, love, and self-control. Next time you find yourself starting to worry, remember that you have these weapons in your battle bag. God is your strength and your shield.

No Worries Here by Michelle Robertson

Don’t Let Go of the Rope

Posted on by Betsy

I have been blessed to serve two churches with outstanding preschools. At both the Peachtree City United Methodist Church and the Kitty Hawk United Methodist Church, I have been able to look out my office window and see kids running around, playing, laughing, and learning. When I moved to the Outer Banks and had my first conversation with my District Superintendent about where I might serve, I emphasized to him that I hoped I could serve a church with a preschool. It is that important to me.

One of my favorite things to see in September is the youngest group of children learning how to walk in a line. Isn’t’ it funny to think that at one point when you were little, you had to be taught how to walk in a line? For safety and for learning, our two-year old class of Seal Pups walks with a rope. The rope has handles for each child, and they go marching along the sidewalk to the playground each holding on tight. Kids-on-a-rope is one of the cutest things you will ever see.

We all need a rope to hang on to, don’t we? We need the security and comfort of attaching ourselves to something bigger and stronger in those times when we feel weak and afraid. We need to attach ourselves to something that won’t let go of us.

Let’s see what Joshua says about it:

Joshua 1:9 New International Version (NIV)

9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

That, right there, is your rope. The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Every preschool child knows that the teacher will never let go of them. And those kids hang on for life.

So, too, should we hang on to Jesus….for life. One of his strongest promises to us comes in the book of John when he says, “I came that you might have life and have it ABUNDANTLY.” Not just ordinary life, not just plain day to day life, but abundant life. Think about that last word … abundantly. The Greek translation of that word is “pertaining to that which is not ordinarily encountered.” So what Christ offers is something extreme, something extraordinary, something that surpasses everything else. Christ offers true, real, deep and abiding happiness.

But sometimes our happiness, our joy, and our peace get stolen. And we know by whom. It says in the Scripture, “The thief comes to KILL, STEAL and destroy.”  We know that this passage is referring to Satan. And we know what tools he uses … he uses worry. He uses anxiety. He uses fear. He uses distraction and confusion. And when those things are deployed, we lose our grip on Jesus and let go of the rope.

Friends, don’t let go of the rope. Don’t take your eyes off of Jesus. Don’t let worry blur your vision. Do not be afraid! For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Don’t Let Go by Michelle Robertson

What, Me Worry?

Posted on by Betsy

A few weeks ago I led a women’s workshop on anxiety and worry, and I was profoundly moved by the responses around the room to the subject matter. There was not a single person there who does not struggle with anxiety in some form. Several women approached me during the breaks and said that they feel overwhelmed with worry about what is happening in our country. Does that describe you, too?

Our worries typically center around family, security, finances, health, self-esteem, and other personal issues. What do you worry about the most?

Today we will look at the beautiful story of Joshua, who provides an antidote to worry for us this morning.

Joshua 1:8

“Never stop reading The Book of the Law he gave you. Day and night you must think about what it says. If you obey it completely, you and Israel will be able to take this land.”

You remember that Joshua was the successor to Moses. The Israelites had escaped from Egypt and Moses sent out twelve spies to check out the land. Ten came back and spread fear and anxiety about the “giants” they saw. But Joshua and Caleb came back with calm reports of a land filled with milk and honey. So Joshua was chosen to lead the people after Moses died, and he took the nation of Israel into the Promised Land. There were many battles to be fought, rivers to cross, hardship and hunger to endure … not to mention that the people had already proven themselves to be a bunch of whiners and complainers. But Joshua understood that God would be with them all the way and he could count on God to give them everything they needed.

So looking at that passage again, we can see three things that we can do when worry overcomes us:

READ GOD’S WORD

THINK AND MEDITATE 

OBEY

So the way we can use this as a weapon in the battle against worry is this: Let’s say your morning worry is about traffic, car accidents, personal safety, or concern for your family’. You might find that it is while driving your car that your worries begin to take you over and you fall prey to WHATIFITIS….what if this happens, what if I’m late, what if that car suddenly stops in front of me, what if my son gets in an accident on his way to work, what if my child gets hit by a car getting off the school bus, what if I didn’t latch the baby’s car seat correctly, etc.

So now, let’s imagine you schedule a mere five minutes extra in your morning routine. In fact, you don’t need five extra minutes, just keep your devotional resource available in the bathroom. Most of us spend more than five minutes in there getting ready for the morning. You may be reading this in the bathroom today as you are brushing your teeth and preparing for the day. Good on you!

So, you read a five minute devotional with a bible verse in it. You get in your car. Instead of going through your Worry Loop, you force your mind to think of nothing else but the verse and the devotional that you read first thing. You feel God urging you in some way to respond to the passage. You obey that nudge and think of ways to live that out today. Read, think about it, and obey.

It is in the obey part that we turn our worry into action. When you meditate on Scripture first thing in the morning, you can use it to beat back the worry and focus on what God is calling you to do. Is the Holy Spirit prompting you to call and check on a friend? Are you being directed to stop at the grocery store for donations to your local food pantry? Do you need to write a quick text or email to offer a word of encouragement to someone who is struggling? Based on the Scripture you read, what are you supposed to do today?

Obeying the Word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit is a fine way to keep worry at bay. Taking a proactive stand and living out that Scripture will re-focus your thoughts on what God is doing in your midst, with you as his vessel.

Are you worried today? Go and do something about it.

No Worries Here by Kathy Schumacher

Worries and Distractions

Posted on by Betsy

Do you ever get up in the middle of the night just to worry?

It’s 4:00 in the morning and my mind is not at rest. There is something about the “witching hour” that catches up with me more nights than I would like to mention. I get awake and start the video replay of all the things I have to do, all the things I wish I had said, all the things I regret saying (!), and a multitude of other non-sensical items dance through my head. Sometimes it can take up to an hour to fall back asleep.

Yesterday, I preached a sermon on Mary and Martha as part of our Epiphany series on “Seeing God through different things.” My emphasis was on seeing God through sitting at Jesus’ feet (Bible study) in order to arise and serve, as Mary does in this passage. I didn’t spend too much time on what was happening to Martha, so let’s take a moment to unpack that. Watch for the words distracted and worried:

Luke 10 (New Revised Standard Version)

38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him.[k] 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her, then, to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, 42 but few things are needed—indeed only one. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Last night I was blessed to lead the youth group in a study on this passage, so naturally I focused on distractions and worries. Their responses were very telling! Everyone was able to name their distractions, and number one among the responses was “my phone.”

Are you constantly distracted by your phone? Do you find yourself in a live conversation with someone and you keep glancing down at your text messages? I was grateful that they could name it, and then five minutes later had to ask two of them to put their phones down.

Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she was worried. Who could blame her? Wouldn’t you worry if Jesus was coming to your house for dinner? I mean, what do you serve the Son of God if he came to dinner? I told my congregation that I would immediately call the church’s Care Team and request a meal to be brought over, preferably Rendy’s famous Chicken Pot Pie with a lot of side dishes. I would proudly serve that to Jesus. He’s probably never eaten as well as the Methodists do at a potluck supper! Casseroles galore over here!

We went on to talk about things we worry about, and a very lovely High School Senior said, “Disappointing other people.” She told a story about how she cried at her Spanish oral exam because she could tell that the teacher, whom she adores, appeared to be let down at how she was doing. The sting of disappointing someone hurt her heart.

I can completely relate and might even add that the FEAR of disappointing someone is often a “negative motivator” for me when I have to get something done. What a terrible burden we carry when we feel that way!

What distracts you? What are you worried about?

Now that we’ve acknowledged that we are all Martha, let’s see what Mary did. Mary instantly put her distractions and tasks aside the minute Jesus walked into the house and sat at his feet to listen to his teaching. And there is the answer for us when anxiety overwhelms us. We need to set down the worries we are focusing on and sit at Jesus’ feet and listen.

So, the next time you are awake at 4:00, open your Bible and listen. Get down on your knees and pray but be sure to listen. Take out your journal and list your worries, and then look at them again while you listen to God as he swoops in and gathers them to his bosom.

In a world full of worries and distractions, be a Mary.

Listen to the Dawn Arise by Michelle Robertson

What, Me Worry?

Posted on by Betsy

Over the holidays I spotted a holiday edition of MAD Magazine. I was standing in the grocery store checkout line and there he was, gap-toothed Alfred E. Newman, grinning up at me. MAD Magazine is the iconic snark-fest, anti-establishment publication from the 70’s that was the delight of every sarcastic kid in my South Jersey neighborhood. Somebody would score a copy and it would be passed around like a precious loaf of homemade rye on a Bronx street corner. You would feast on every word and graphic until it was somebody else’s turn and you had to reluctantly give it over. If you were the lucky one to be at the end of the breadline, you got to savor it for weeks. I think (unfortunately) that a lot of my humor was formed in that savoring. I’m kind of proud and ashamed at the same time.

Alfred E. Newman was the de facto mascot, and he answered every satirical cultural problem with “What, me worry?” Everything was met with that response: the nuclear arms race, Watergate, the Vietnam War (Lordy, I am dating myself here)…no matter what was wrong, his response was the same. What, me worry?

Oh, how I long to have that attitude. Wouldn’t you like to be Alfred E. Newman for just one day and say back to every problem, “YOU CAN’T WORRY ME.” Instead, I think we actually go about our day looking for things to worry about. We succumb to a highly contagious disease known as what-if-itis and just what-if ourselves to death.

Meanwhile, God says to us, “What, you worry?”

Joshua 1 (New International Version)

9 ”Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

This incredible passage is God’s response to Joshua upon the death of Moses. MOSES. ‘Young Joshua, I want you to continue Moses’ work and lead the people into the promised land. There will be rivers to cross, Hittites to battle, hunger to address, and the people you are leading are not particularly known for their compliance and cooperation, not to mention that you are replacing MOSES, but you go, young Joshua! Take my people into a foreign land.‘

And we think we’ve got trouble!

God’s word to Joshua is the same to us today. Take another look at that problem you are worried about, and remember that God is telling you to not be afraid. He encourages you to not be discouraged. His COMMAND is to be strong and courageous. How can God make such an outrageous request of us as we stand here with our knees knocking? Because he promises to be with us wherever we go.

Wherever you go. The operating room, the divorce court, the psych ward, the funeral home, the test room, the angry conversation, the teenager’s bedroom…God is with you. Be strong. Be courageous. You are not alone.

What, you worry??

Look at the birds in the air. They neither sow nor reap, yet God provides for them. Who among you can add one single hour to your life by worrying?
Photo by Michelle Robertson