Day 30 of my Lenten Journey

30. Worry

See how the flowers of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Matthew 6:28

I feel like I have come to grips with this one.  Worry and anxiety are some things that a ton of people struggle with, people near and dear to my heart.  Don't get me wrong, I do have quickly fleeting thoughts filled with worry, but I have learned to give this one to God pretty quickly.

When Dadoo passed away 12 years ago, my life was turned upside down.  I knew I was not in control. There was no way that I could change anything.  I had to trust God and let him worry about it all.  I just couldn't deal with it.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   Romans 8:28

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7

Worrying accomplishes nothing except to give you stress.  There is nothing wrong with realistically acknowledging your problems and thinking of solutions, but many times there is no solution other than trusting God.  For example, when Stephen began to take flying lessons, I wasn't going to stop him from doing it.  He made his choice to go up in the air in a tiny plane with one propeller.  I had 2 choices:  worry about him and his safety, or commit to prayer and give his safety over to the Lord.

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  Matthew 6:27

When I do have something that is troubling me, the first thing I do is pray.  That is all I can do.   Nothing is too big or too small for Him.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6

When we give Him our problems, he, in turn, give us his peace.  The peace of God that passes all understanding.  Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.  That only comes from the Lord.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

Maybe it is because I committed many of theses verses to memory long, long ago as a child or maybe it is that I just really feel I have His peace now.  Either way, I will thank God, the Prince of Peace, every day.