You Need to Know the Best Way to Stop Worry Now
I can’t tell you how many nights I spent wide awake worrying about everything.
So, I want to tell you something I wish I’d learned years ago.
You’re probably not surprised by my penchant for worrying. It’s the natural byproduct of fear and I had perfected the fine art of being afraid.
I worried when…
- I had unexplained aches and pains.
- Our children were sick.
- People were impossible to please no matter how hard I tried.
- Unexpected repairs messed with our budget.
I worried about…
- Our Children
- Rev
- Illness
- Death
- Rejection
I worried about things I couldn’t change or control.
Seriously, what’s the point of worrying if you can do something? No, my best worrying happened when I felt helpless.
And feelings of helplessness typically hit me in the quiet hours of the night.
Maybe you can relate.
I was a worry addict and like many addicts, I had to hit bottom before I accepted that worried living—ain’t no way to live!
The Apostle Paul offered great advice about worry – well, about not worrying.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Philippians 4:6
You Need to Know the Best Way to Stop Worry Now
♥ Pray
It may seem like I’m oversimplifying things and I know I always go straight to prayer but I believe prayer is that important.
You see, I chose worry over prayer because I believed lies like…
- My problem was too trivial to bother God with it.
- My fear was too great to surrender it to God.
- My concerns were things that happened to someone else.
- Deep down I worried that God may not want to or worse yet couldn’t prevent it.
For me, worrying was a trust issue! Maybe it’s a trust issue for you, too.
I hit bottom. All my worry hadn’t helped me or prevented several of the bigger things I’d spent waaaay toooo much time worrying about. At the bottom, I realized I had a decision to make…
Was I just going to trust God with my eternal destiny or could I trust Him today, believing that my eternity began the moment Jesus entered my heart.
So, I turned to…
♥ His Promises
I started clinging to two of my favorite verses from Isaiah…
Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of His understanding. Isaiah 40:28
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read through the Bible in the last 12 years because I have to know all I can about God. So, I read and reread both the Old and New Testament to know the faith-filled people who trusted God’s love and surrendered all to walk with Him in the daily.
That daily walk of faith defeats worry because when I’m tempted to worry now, I turn and take my worries to the heavenly throne room, trusting God will hear and meet every need. Prayer helps me to…
♥ Trust His Love
I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:14–19
Trusting God’s love makes it possible for me to trust that He will always…
♥ Act for Good and His Glory.
And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28
By God’s grace, I seldom worry these days. I would love to tell you it was like flipping a switch. You know, one of those holy moments where everything changed and I never worried again. I can’t.
So friends, be patient the road to a life without worry is not a super-highway. But God will not fail you as you travel it. He will faithfully meet your every need even if He asks you to live through the very thing you fear.
Ooooh, I didn’t like several of the mile markers along that winding road but God never left me. He faithfully comforted me and gave me strength. And ultimately gave me His peace that goes beyond understanding.
That sums it up, doesn’t it?
Let me ask you a question . . . just something to think about.
How would your relationships look if you stopped worrying?
Your relationship with your…
- spouse.
- children.
- parents.
- friends.
- coworkers
- etc.
What if you decided to do what you can and trust God with the rest?
Then, when you’re tempted to worry . . . turn and run to the throne room in prayer, grab hold of His promises, trust His love, and know without a doubt that God is always at work for the good of His children and for His glory.
I’m praying for you. If you have a specific worry you’d like me to take to the Lord, leave it in the comments or leave a prayer request on our Blessing Counters Pray Page.
You can do this.
Believe me, if God can deliver this worrier He can deliver you!
Leave your prayer requests…
and stop to pray one or two of the requests listed.
I LOVE hearing from you! Please take a minute to say ‘hi’ and share your thoughts in the comments below.
And if this article blessed or helped you today — would you share it with someone? Maybe a friend, family member, coworker, or through the links below…
Life would be so much more free and peaceful if we could all learn to stop worrying. Unfortunately, it’s our sin nature to worry … so we have to work hard not to worry (especially those of us who are prone to it!). This post is a great encouragement to stay strong and exchange worry for trust!
I’m quite sure I will always be a recovering worrier. I am definitely one of those people prone to worry . . . as I can remember middle of the night worry as a very little girl. But with God’s help, I’m doing better and will trust Him one day at a time. Thanks for your encouragement. You bless me!!
Deb, this is such a fantastic guide. Thank you for the convicting questions and highlighting prayer. It’s so easy for us to feel like “pray” is a pat answer, but it’s not. Prayer changes so much! Thank you for this!
Thank you, Bethany! I do believe God uses prayer to calm us. Like a child running to a loving parent in the middle of the night. Prayer runs to the throne room in faith and the blessing received is God’s peace, courage, and strength. May God bless you abundantly!!
Like you, Deb, I have struggled with worry before remembering that I can turn it all over to the One who answers prayers. Just the other day, I was experiencing some strange shoulder/upper chest pain; it happened before when I realized we could never go home to the church we had served for so many years. Ironically, they manifested on the very day we were trying out a new church!
Instead of letting myself be consumed by worry, I prayed to God that, if it was His will, He would remove this “thorn.” Although I had a rough night, by morning the healing was so incredible, I was able to go to the gym!
Our God is an awesome God! Blessings!
Martha, I love that! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. His grace is always sufficient. My prayer is to faithfully remember and turn to Him first! Blessings, my friend!
Deb – I am a recovering worrier too and like you, I have found that exercising my trust muscle has made all the difference. Knowing Him, knowing His word and then putting into practice what I know to be true has strengthened my spiritual core. Great post! Visiting you today from What Joy is Mine. xo
Amen, Amen, Amen!
Great words today, Deb!
I love this word, “Then, when you’re tempted to worry . . . turn and run to the throne room in prayer, grab hold of His promises, trust His love.”
You bless me~
Melanie
Deb, great post! I love that you pointed out that learning to trust God instead of worrying isn’t usually an instantaneous thing. It’s a day by day, moment by moment, decision. Thanks for sharing and for hosting. Blessings!
So good, Deb! My mom was a chronic worrier. She has definitely improved over the last couple of years, though. I was always very aware of it and determined to not do the same. I thought I was doing pretty well, but recently realized it has found it’s way into my heart. It’s a battle I need to fight by leaning into and trusting Jesus!
♥ Lori
I loved this. I do worry. God is the only one I trust but I have the problem of letting go and standing and. It trying to fix it before he can.