Worry Schmurry

"Don't panic. I'm with you.
   There's no need to fear for I'm your God.
I'll give you strength. I'll help you.
   I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you."

Isaiah 41:10

I, my friends, am a worrier.

I mean, come on, I had an ulcer when I was 9.  

So, over the years I've figured out other ways to deal with my worry.  Like eating (which we all know how well that works) like biting my nails (which a friend told me is the equivalent of eating off the toilet seat) and grasping for more control of uncontrollable circumstances.  

So, basically, all my remedies for worrying just add more worry - like getting fat, getting some nasty disease, and once again not successfully controlling things.

With that said, the above verse keeps popping into my head.  Over and over again.

We still don't have a job (not much has changed in the last 2 days) in the greatest recession since the Great Depression.

Japan is in nuclear, tsunami, earthquake crisis - which is way more troublesome than our personal financial situation (yes, I'm fully aware).

My friend is at the ER right now with her sick baby girl.

Another friend's husband just got a huge pay cut instead of the pay INCREASE he was counting on.

And yet, despite all this:

Don't panic. I'm with you.
   There's no need to fear for I'm your God.
I'll give you strength. I'll help you.
   I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.

Isaiah 41:10

It really is way easier to panic.  It really is way easier to be consumed with worry.  It's just natural, for me anyways.  But worry, panic, anxiety - isn't that a form of control?

Don't I think, secretly, that if I worry or obsess a little more over a situation that somehow my anxiety will make it all better.  That my overzealous worry will be the remedy?  And yet, God says it's wont.  In fact, not only does He say that it wont remedy anything, He tells us that worrying can't add a single day to our lives.

And instead of worrying, we are supposed to pray...about everything.

I've been praying.  Through my worry, I've been praying.  When I'm anxious, I've been praying.  When I'm scared, I've been praying.

Because He says,

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Phillippians 4:6-7

And I'm being held firm, even though I'm shaking, by the steadfast hand of God.  Even though I may be scared, God is protecting my heart and my mind.  He takes care of the birds and the lilies of the field - and I'm worth far more than those to my Maker.