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Are You a “Worrier” or a “Planner”?

by | Oct 11, 2012 | The Spiritual Life

Photo Credit: Jefferson Noguera

 

Let me guess, you’re not a “worrier” necessarily, but you’re a “planner.” Am I right? 

How did I know? Because that’s what I say too. “Worrying” is wrong and there are a number of “fret not” verses in Scripture to remind us of this, but there’s nothing in there about “planning” is there? Or if it is, it’s a good thing, right? Jesus has gone to heaven to “prepare” a place for us, and that has to take some planning. Are you with me?

So you whip out your calendar, your day-planner, your iCal, your Evernote lists and you “plan” for the worst and hope for the best. You think of every possible scenario and what you would do about it if it happens. How are you going to pay for it? How are you going to pack for it? What are you going to do if this-and-such happens?

I’m a planner and I have to say that being organized and thinking ahead are good things. They really are. The trouble comes in when we substitute our preparedness for worry. 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34 to,

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

This doesn’t mean that we are supposed to live life flying by the seat of our pants. (Which is a really odd expression by the way. How does one fly by the seat of his pants exactly? Anyway…) What Jesus is saying is that we aren’t supposed to worry about things in the future, but trust Him to take care of them. The verse before this one gives us a very important caveat.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

If we are “planning” our schedules, our budgets, and our futures without any concern for what God would have us do, what would best benefit His kingdom, what will bring Him the most glory, and what will help to advance His gospel, then we are in a heap of trouble.

We can’t just cross our fingers and hope for the best and pay God no attention. We must seek first His kingdom and His righteousness AND THEN all these things shall be added unto us. (All these things referring to verse 31 in which it lists worrying about what we will eat, drink and wear, NOT “all these things” meaning the fabulous new pair of stilettos you just found at T.J. Maxx.)

Psalm 147:11 tells us that,

The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

He takes pleasure in those that choose not to worry about what might happen. He takes pleasure in those that look to Him to be with them no matter what comes because they know that He is a good and merciful God that has our best in mind. Just like the picture above, sometimes we only see part of the whole. But God sees the end from the beginning and everything in between. Even the things that don’t look good to us now, He has promised will work out in the end. Trust Him to take care of both the every day and the “ever after” and you can enjoy a life of peace, even in times of uncertainty.

Do you sometimes have a hard time believing in your heart of hearts that God has good planned for you? What character of God or verse of Scripture helps you to remember that God is worthy of our trust? Please click comment to share your thoughts.

Are you on Pinterest? Follow me and the Forgetting the Fairy Tale board to pin the quote above and other quotes from the book for your encouragement.

 

“What Am I Going to Do?”

by | Aug 16, 2012 | The Spiritual Life

“I’m overwhelmed.” “I have so much to do.” “I don’t have enough money.” “How is this ever going to work?”

Sound familiar?

a worried woman

There are times in my life (like today) when these questions and a dozen more crowd my mind and make it hard to breathe. If I allow myself to play these thoughts in my mind, by the end of the day I am completely overwhelmed, frustrated, discouraged and have accomplished nothing. Why? Because all of my energy was wasted on worry.

David understood this very thing. In Psalm 61 he prays to God and confesses that he is completely overwhelmed. He requests help to remember that he had a higher power, a shelter, a strength that was greater than himself and his problems. We need to do the same.

Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. – Psalm 61:1-2

We have a Rock to run to for protection from the storms and for safe haven from the rushing waters that threaten to overcome us. We can choose to stay where we are and drown in our emotions, or we can cry out for help. We can’t climb the cliff ourselves, but when we call on the Lord to rescue us, He is quick to reach out and lift us to safety.

Your circumstances may not change. You may still have a to-do list a mile long and a list of bills to equal it. What will change is your heart. You will have peace that no matter what happens, Christ has a hold on you. You aren’t going to fall to your death. You will be able to take one step at a time with a mind free of worry because you have given your fears over to the only one that can really do anything about them.

Sometimes I think we women tend to worry and fret and plan and manipulate as a way to control the situation. We feel that handing our fears to God is giving up. We think that if we let Him work out the details that things won’t happen the way we want them to. But what we fail to realize is that we aren’t in control no matter how much we try to be. The only thing we are doing when we hold on to our worries is adding sin to our already difficult situation. This pulls us away from God instead of drawing us to Him.

So the next time you are tempted to push play on the recording labeled “What am I going to do?” push pause instead. Take a moment, or several if necessary, and take your concerns to God. Let Him know what the problem is and ask for Him to intervene. Ask Him for the peace needed to think clearly, the grace to leave the problem in His hands and the wisdom to know what to do when the time is right to act.

Do you have a special verse that you turn to when you feel overwhelmed? I would love for you to share it with us in the comments section. It may be just the thing that someone needs to hear today to take courage in the trial they are facing.

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