Topic > When Life Hurts > Anxiety & Depression > Worry >
An Anchor When We’re Afraid
Are you a worrier? I am. I wrestle with anxiety almost daily. I worry about big things. I worry about small things. Sometimes, it seems like I worry about everything. Once in my teens, I called the police when my parents were four hours late getting home.
Scripture repeatedly calls us not to be afraid. Because of God’s goodness and power, and because He sent Jesus to die for us and His Holy Spirit to guide us, our fears don’t have to rule our lives. We may well face hard things, but God has promised to be with us through it all.
One…
One of God’s Great “Don’ts”
Do not fret— it only causes harm —Psalm 37:8
Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have …
Tossing and Turning
What keeps you awake at night? Lately I’ve been losing sleep, tossing and turning on my bed, trying to work out a solution to an issue. Eventually I began fretting about not getting enough rest to handle the challenges of the next day!
Sound familiar? Troubled relationships, an uncertain future, whatever it is—we all give in to worry at one point or another.
King David was clearly in distress when he penned Psalm 4. People were ruining his reputation with groundless accusations (v. 2). And some were questioning his competency to rule (v. 6). David probably felt angry for being treated so…
We Won’t Break
As a native Californian and lover of all things sunny, I shy away from all things cold. I do, however, enjoy beautiful photos of snow. So I couldn’t help but smile when my friend from Illinois shared a winter picture of a sapling outside her window. Admiration turned to sadness when I noticed its bare, knotted branches bowing under the heavy fringe of sparkling icicles.
How long could those bending boughs endure before breaking under their icy burdens? The heaviness threatening to crack the tree’s limbs reminded me of my shoulders, hunched beneath the weight of worries.
After Jesus affirms that the…
The Cure for Anxiety
We were excited about moving for my husband’s job. But the unknowns and challenges leave me feeling anxious. Thoughts of sorting and packing up belongings. Looking for a place to live. My finding a new job too. Making my way around a new city, and getting settled. It was all . . . unsettling. As I thought about my “to-do” list, words written by the apostle Paul echoed in my mind: Don’t worry, but pray (Phil. 4:6–7).
If anyone could have been anxious about unknowns and challenges, it would have been Paul. He was shipwrecked. He was beaten. He was jailed. In…
How can you be sure you’re following God’s will?
Today on Discover the Word, we’ll conclude the series titled, “Standing at the Crossroads”! When you’re faced with a difficult choice, are you confident in choosing the way to go? And more importantly, can you be sure you’re following God and that it’s “His will”? Join us today for a thought-provoking discussion on making tough […]
“Standing at the Crossroads”
We all have to make decisions. But when you find yourself “Standing at the Crossroads” of a decision, how do you determine which way to go? Today on Discover the Word, we kick off a new series about the prophet Jeremiah and explore ancient wisdom that helped him make godly decisions. Listen to Discover the Word, today!
Bring your worries to Jesus
I think it’s safe to say that we all worry about something, even though we know it doesn’t really change anything! Today on Discover the Word, we will discuss what it looks like to bring our worries to Jesus. The group turns to Matthew 6 to continue their series “Bring It to Jesus,” today, right here […]
Experiencing Lent for the First Time
This year marks the first time I’m actively participating in the season of Lent. Apart from it being an annual liturgical season, I originally had little idea what Lent was about.
Seeing to Tomorrow
I enjoy gazing up at a cloudless blue sky. The sky is a beautiful part of our great Creator’s masterpiece, given for us to enjoy. Imagine how much pilots must love the view. They use several aeronautical terms to describe a perfect sky for flying, but my favorite is, “You can see to tomorrow.”
Actually, “seeing to tomorrow” is something even pilots cannot do. Sometimes we even struggle to see or understand what life is throwing at us today. The Bible tells us, “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist…
“Because You Prayed”
What do you do with your worries? Do you turn them inward, or turn them upward? When the brutal Assyrian King Sennacherib was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, he sent a message to King Hezekiah saying that Judah would be no different from all the other nations he had conquered. Hezekiah took this message to the […]
Trusting God in tough times
Can you really trust God in tough times? Well, today on “Discover the Word,” the group continues their study of “The Miraculous Life of Elisha” and why trusting God with healing a Syrian military leader named Naaman was so tough for all concerned. Join the group today on “Discover the Word”!
What Does Jesus Mean to You?
One Tuesday night at Bible Study class, our teacher—after pacing back and forth in his usual manner, with one finger over his lips—looked at us and asked: “What is Jesus to you?”
Worry-Free
Trying to stay aware of current events has its downside because bad news sells better than good news. It’s easy to become overly concerned about the criminal acts of individuals, crowds, or governments over whom we have no control.
Psalm 37 gives perspective to the daily news. David begins by saying, “Do not fret because of those who are evil” (v. 1). Then he proceeds to outline for us some alternatives to becoming overly anxious. In essence, David suggests a better way of thinking about negative news in our world.
What would happen if, instead of worrying about events beyond our control,…
Not My Worry
A man worried constantly about everything. Then one day his friends heard him whistling happily and looking noticeably relaxed. “What happened?” they asked him in astonishment.
He said, “I’m paying a man to do my worrying for me.”
“How much do you pay him?” they asked.
“Two thousand dollars a week,” he replied.
“Wow! How can you afford that?”
“I can’t,” he said, “but that’s his worry.”
While this humorous way to handle stress doesn’t work in real life, as God’s children we can turn our worries over to Someone who has everything perfectly under control even—especially—when we feel it is not.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us…
