Overcoming the Weight Of Worry

Some mornings, the very act of waking feels burdensome. A thousand worries descend upon our newly roused minds—the relentless "what-ifs" that leave us feeling hopeless. What if I lose my job? What if my spouse leaves? What if we don't have enough money? We imagine worst-case scenarios, thinking it will somehow prepare us for potential hardships. Yet I have never met anyone who emotionally prepared themselves for difficulty through worrying. It simply doesn't work.As Corrie ten Boom wisely stated, "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength." Entertaining "what-ifs" harms us rather than helping.When we feel compelled to envision every possibility and brace for the worst, we are playing God—a role for which we are terribly unfit. No offense, but you make a terrible god. You lack the big-picture vision needed to prepare for what's to come. You also lack the strength to deal with tomorrow's challenges.Anytime you venture into the future alone, you go with far less than you could have. You have a God who is strong and exceedingly capable of being enough for you in each moment. Yes, suffering is promised. But we need not bear it through our own feeble strength. We have the power of the living God within us, access to all we could ever need for any scenario—not because we are super-Christians or have worried ourselves into preparedness, but because Jesus' Life provides all we need.Are "what-ifs" drowning you today? Will you surrender them to God, allowing Him to be enough for whatever comes? This requires trust, which is difficult. Otherwise, you are relying on yourself to be strong, patient, forgiving, and more. I know I lack what it takes for all of that.So let us shift our minds from worst-case scenarios and fix them firmly on things above. This does not mean ignoring practical realities while clinging to pie-in-the-sky ideals. It means recognizing our lack of vision and understanding of greater things. It means adjusting our mindset to the One who works in the physical and supernatural realms, for He knows all things and can direct us in the best way. And we walk forward in this physical world—cleaning, cooking, raising children, working—but we walk in the strength of Jesus, recognizing that only in Him will we be ready for the unknown.