One Holy Choice to Reset Your Worry Meter
Guest posting today is Ginger Harrington, award-winning author of Holy in the Moment.
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“We’re moving this summer,” my husband announced as we sat down to dinner. Four pairs of eyes open wide with surprise. “Where are we going, Daddy? Is it far away,” my youngest daughter asked?
This wasn’t the conversation I expected or wanted at the dinner table. Unprepared for uncertainty, I tried to take it in. Excited and upset, emotions and thoughts fought an internal tug of war. When is the last time unexpected news or a challenging situation set off your internal worry meter?
When you need to reset your internal worry-meter.
As military family, we’ve relocated many times, but as our oldest entered the high school years, we hoped to settle in Virginia. That night, I remember sitting straight in my chair, wood pressing against my back, as the vision of moving boxes made me slightly nauseous. What circumstances alert your worry meter?
Moving has been a personal battle zone of anxiety, and my internal system immediately served up the familiar fears that come with moving (You can read more about learning to trust God during my battle with anxiety in the first chapter of my book).
Squelching my emotions, I jumped into the conversation, doing my best to build excitement and calm concerns of our three children. Enthusiastic on the outside, I pushed back past worries that threatened to take over.
The next morning, I woke early as the sun began to light the sky with a soft light filtering through the window. As my concerns ramped up for the day, a Bible verse came to mind.
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1 NASB).
God used this verse to help me counter my fears.
Lord, why do I worry so much?
I silently prayed, burrowing deeper into the covers, still warm from sleep. How do I overcome these emotions and fears that make transition, uncertainty, and change so difficult?
Many times I’ve wanted to apply this verse directly to my soul like a Band-Aid. When anxiety shows up, I long for one, quick fix to silence the whimpers of my soul balking at every transition and uncertainty. Maybe you struggle with uncertain circumstances as well. The biblical word for trouble is tarasso, meaning to agitate, to cause inward commotion, to take away calmness of mind. As if that’s not enough, the meaning extends deeper to strike one’s spirit with fear and dread, to render anxious and distressed. Like a bully, trouble threatens our well-being and darkens our thoughts. When we give into the temptation to let our thoughts spin with an increasing, frantic energy, worry holds our hearts captive with an iron grip of fear.
We have a choice that makes a difference.
“Do not let”…
Do you see the choice?
Choosing faith over fear is one holy act to consecrate the day and settle our hearts. Faith is for stepping out of the shadows of fear into the vibrancy of God.
“Believe in God, believe also in Me.” Overused and diluted, the word believe has become more of an opinion rather than a choice infusing strength to resist the troublesome burden of worry.
To rely on, trust in, cling to and place confidence in–this is the lifeline for our souls and the conduit to receive the strength and peace of God.
In this verse Jesus simply states a strategy to fight fear and overcome worry. Verses will never be Band-Aids, but the decision to believe opens our hearts for the power of God to strengthen and calm. Peace of mind and rest for the soul are the blessed by-products of trusting Jesus as we make a practical choice to “cast all our anxieties on Him” (1 Peter 5:7 NASB).
One holy choice to trust connects God’s supply to our desperate need. Today let the Spirit remind you that believing God is a decision rather than an opinion, hope, or emotion. A choice rather than an instant fix for the problem at hand.
Hold on to faith in the moment.
Holding onto faith in the midst of worry is a sacred offering as we rely on Christ in the moment.
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).
Holiness happens when we make room for God in our worries and struggles, offering our hearts just as they are, not as we wish they were.
Every morning as we face the day, placing our feet firmly on the floor, let’s ask God for the faith we need in this moment. In the middle of our circumstances, we can experience strength to let go of worry.
For all of us, emotions will come and go for life has no shortage of difficult days. Worry happens—it’s part of life on this earth—but holiness is found in each small but significant choice to trust God one more time.
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Ginger, thank you for sharing your beautiful words of encouragement and God’s wisdom with us. May the Lord continue to bless you and the work you do for His glory.
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A Selah-Award finalist, Ginger Harrington is the author of Holy in the Moment: Simple Ways to Love God and Enjoy Your Life, as well as the publishing director for the non-profit organization, Planting Roots: Strength the Thrive in Military Life. A dynamic speaker, Ginger helps women learn practical ways to experience wholeness and healing in Christ. Read more from Ginger at GingerHarrington.com and be sure to get a free Summer Bucket List for Your Soul.
