The key to me about worry is found in Philippians 4:6-8 in the NLT version. Paul tells us “Don’t worry about anything.” Worry is a wasted emotion. It is not productive; it only fills our hearts and minds with negativity. The problem is that when we are told not to worry, what should we fill that empty time with? You’ve taken the worry out of your day, so now what? The answer isn’t apathy or disinterest, it isn’t regret or disgust. Paul lets us know what we are to do with that newly vacant time. He gives us a productive alternative to worry when he tells us to “pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” This goal seems admirable right? Yet so many of us find comfort in our worry and find it hard to let go. We find a constant companion and we’d rather fill our heads with our good friend worry than a stranger that we are unfamiliar with. The devil feeds on that fear, the worry that we would be empty if it weren’t for worry. What a vicious cycle. However, there is hope if we can replace our worry with prayer.
Paul says that “if you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.” It’s no wonder that we have trouble letting go of our worry. Worry is something we understand, something we can wrap our brain around, something we know. It takes zero faith to worry. The problem is that His peace is not available to us if we don’t have that faith. We must step out, letting go of our comfortable worry, and demonstrate our faith in God’s promise. How do we do that? Paul says, “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” It is that easy.
The easiest way to fill your mind with good is to be in and of the bible for it is all of these things. When you study the Word, you have a better understanding of what it means to be pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise. By memorizing scripture, you’re equipping yourself to think of good things when you are away from the word and in the real world. Pray because prayer releases your mind of the bad and filling it back up with faith, hope and love. If you fill your vacant time with any of these things, it becomes difficult to find the time or even a reason to worry.
