Worry, Worry, Worry...Can We Stop?

I looked up on a bible search program for verses that pertained to "worry", and the search came up with 165 verses! I thought that was an enormous number of verses for worry. Obviously God has quite a bit to say about worrying!

As I scrolled down reading all these verses, the word "don't" almost always appears before the word "worry." So even at first glance, it seems we really should not be worrying. Yet whenever somebody says, "Don't worry about it," how many times do we stop worrying? Almost never.

Sometimes I think that we, as humans, feel like we have to worry in order to get things done, which is sort of disappointing. But why do we worry anyways? I think it's because when we feel we are dealt too much to handle, we feel overwhelmed and don't have anybody to help us. Then, we turn to God and ask for help, but since we tend to view God as a supernatural impersonal being, we don't think he can or will actually help us out physically. Once we give our 30 second to praying to God for peace or for him to take away the worry and not seeing immediate results, we get right back into the worrying game.

So how do we stop worrying? This is a tough question to answer, but here are my thoughts:

Proverbs 1:33 says, "But whoever listens to me will live without worry and will be free from the dread of disaster."

This verse tell us a variety of things that will help us all stop worrying. First of all, we have to realize that we need to turn to God in all situations, whether they are good or bad. This verse tells us that we need to listen to God. And we listen to God through prayer and reading his word in an attempt to get closer and learn more about him. Sometimes we have to wait on God to speak us, so we have to be patient in listening to God. Next, the verse says if we do listen, we will live without worry! How cool is that?! By simply listening to God, we can live our lives worry-free. Lastly, the verse says if we listen to God, we will be free from the dread of disaster. Thats a pretty awesome bonus prize if you ask me.

The cure for worrying is not a simple task. It can be difficult to turn to God, and wait for a response from him. However patience is rewarded greatly by God(Proverbs 20:22). I challenge and pray that you will make a noble to listen to God so that you may live your life worry free.

2 Peter 1:2