Worry, it’s everywhere. I feel like everywhere you turn these days there are people worried and if it’s not others it’s yourself. I will be the first to admit I struggle with worry and that is what I want to share about in today’s blog post. First I will define what worry is and then I will get into three bible verses that have helped me in my time of worry.
To start, let’s define worry. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines worry as this: “mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated.” So it is explained above that usually we become worried about something that could happen in the future. I don’t know what that is for you, but a lot of my worries have to do with my chronic pain. I have been dealing with injuries since May of 2017. And my mind tends to spiral when I have a flare up because of my past with injuries and not knowing how to properly treat them. Just last night I was on the verge of letting my mind spiral down the rabbit whole because my right foot is bothering me more than I would like and I had a hard cross training session the next day towards my half marathon training. Thankfully, I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to two of the three bible verses to help bring me peace and ignite my faith to trust in God. So with that being said let’s get into these verses.
- Isaiah 40:31
“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” This is one of my favorite bible verses of all time. In the bible eagles represent strength, freedom, and power. This verse reminds me that I am not alone and I don’t have to do or go through hard things by myself. The Lord promises in this verse that He will supply me with new strength when I trust in Him.
- Matthew 6:34
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” I know this bible verse doesn’t sound too uplifting. But I believe what Jesus is trying to teach us in this verse is to stay present. As the dictionary mentioned above, we tend to get worried about things in the future. Jesus is reminding us to focus on the current day we are in and trust Him that when the time comes that He will provide for us what we need. I do want to note for context, earlier in the passage Jesus also states that God already knows all of our needs and that when we seek Him and live righteously He will give us everything we need.
- 1 Peter 5:7
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” I love this truth that Peter writes in his letter. When you fully understand and remember how incredible that statement is, it can bring so much hope. We need to remember that Jesus, God in the flesh, lived on this earth and went through every type of pain that we go through. So when we are in these moments of hurt and pain we can look to the creator of the universe and remember that He has been through this pain and He understands. And not only does He understand but He cares. He never wanted pain to be in the world. And unfortunately that is the world we will live since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. But since Jesus came, fulfilled all of the prophecies in the Old Testament, and rose again we can have hope that there will be a time when there will be no more pain. No more worry.
I pray that these three bible verses can give you hope, peace, and strength for the next time you find yourself worried. After going through these bible verses it reminded me that when I am worried it gives me the opportunity to depend on God. And it doesn’t help that we currently live in an independent culture, especially those of us who live in New York City. But I am just here to remind you that we were not made to go through this life alone or try to put on a facade that we have it all together. We get to go to the God of the universe with our needs through prayer asking for His help. And if you are reading this today and find it hard to believe that these scriptures can actually provide you hope and strength for your situation, I encourage you to pray and ask God to open your eyes and heart to understanding and believing in them. I am going to leave you with this truth about scripture, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
-Shara