Psalm 139:23, Psalm 127:2, Matthew 6:31-34, Psalm 34:19, Philippians 4:6-7

Jeff Cutts considers how to handle worry and anxiety

Jeff Cutts

How much do you worry? Are you anxious?

We all worry about things at some time or another. Twice very recently I have spoken with people who have been overcome with worry, worrying about so many things and anxious about so much that they have even been kept awake at night worrying that they were worrying too much. Worrying about worrying about worry!

Anxiety and worry are rife in this fast moving world, which is full of news and debate that we hear from all quarters. It may be true that we could hear more news in a day than people would have in a lifetime even a hundred years ago. We know and can therefore worry about our world's unprecedented challenges; wars, global economy, threats of terrorism and crime. We are flooded with an overload of information and choice.

Then there is our very own close and personal here and now, we can worry so much about ourselves, our loved ones, safety, security, what we shall eat, wear and how we shall live.

Here are a few verses that have been helping me recently:

First of all a simple prayer that brings it all to Father God and places it in His hands; 'Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.' Psalm 139:23

This Psalm says God knows me, He is with me, I can't escape Him, He made me and it finishes with an invitation to God to lead me in the way everlasting. It is telling us we need to hand ourselves and our worries over to Father God who knows all the troubles of the world and all our personal insecurities, is asking Him to guide us through them. Asking Him to know our anxiety, inviting Him to know our heart and the root of our fear and allowing Him to come into those areas, these are the things that will help us most. We can't save ourselves!

Sometimes we may try to do it all in our own way but another psalm tells me, 'It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.' Psalm 127:2

Jesus explained about these practicalities pretty clearly saying, "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:31-34

It is inevitable that there will be trouble in life, but the promise of God's word is that the Lord is our deliverer in that trouble. 'The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.' Psalm 34:19

A testimony is great! The test however is the hard part that we need to come through in order to have the testimony. Hold on to the fact that in the troubles we face we have the Lord Almighty with us, He is our deliverer.

I don't know what you face and what you worry about today, but I know that I have worried about too many trials and yet still experienced God working on my behalf to rescue me. Time and time again He has proved His faithfulness to me. His arm is not too short to rescue, He comes to the rescue each time. This inspires confidence in me, it strengthens my faith.

Yet saying all that I know I will still worry. Tomorrow I will need to come again to the Lord with that day's problems and anxieties and the next day and each day to ask Him to know my anxious thoughts and to lead me in the way everlasting.

'Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.' Philippians 4:6-7