Weights, Worries & WearinessSample

WHAT IS AT THE ROOT OF WORRY?

As a mom of two boys who are close in age, are super competitive and are always cheering the other on to try even crazier and riskier challenges, worry is something that I often find myself wrestling with internally. However, externally, it plays out in the need to try to control every situation I observe my boys in. As a mom, I see the objects that they choose to play with as a risk for stitches; I see every obstacle they climb up as a risk for a broken bone. The problem is that if I speak every one of these worries out loud, it will do nothing but instil fear and apprehensiveness into the hearts of my children. But my desire is that they live life, not fear it. (On a side note, I do believe that movies like Jaws and Taken add to our over-the-top, irrational fears that danger lies behind every potted plant.)

The need to be in control is at the root of all worry. We inherited this need from Adam and Eve. It was in the garden that the enemy spoke two crucial lies that drive all worry. The first lie is that God is not to be trusted – that at the heart of His character, He is not good. The second lie is that it’s better to be ‘like god’ (small ‘g’), because then you can be in control of your own destiny. In Genesis 3, the serpent asked Eve a question, which caused her to doubt the goodness of God. He followed this question with a blatant lie, which he then slam-dunked with the temptation of inheriting the knowledge of good and evil, rendering her god over her own life. The reality, however, is that being in control doesn’t diminish our worries – it actually does the complete opposite. In fact, we will find peace only when we choose to surrender our fickle ability to control things to the One who is fully Sovereign. Jesus is the one who is in control of the final outcome of the world’s story. He made a plan and a way to eternal life, saying that whoever believes in Him will not perish. Death really is something that we don’t need to fear. (Be careful not to confuse death itself and how one dies – these are two different topics.) The point is, death itself is merely a doorway to eternity if you believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

For me, I choose to surrender daily to the truth that God’s love for my boys is exceedingly greater than my love for them. So, the plans he has for them are to prosper them and not to harm them, and He will work out all things for their good. Therefore, I choose to trust my Heavenly Dad’s love for my boys, and I choose to rebuke worry from my mind. (Although I don’t always succeed, I can say that I am getting better at it.)

Take some time to reflect on the following:

• Whom or what do you find yourself wanting to control most?
• How does this play out?
• What effect does your need to be in control have over these spaces?
• Does control help to eliminate your worries and fears?
• Consider how trusting in the goodness and greatness of God’s plan can help you to let go of worry and control.

PRAY

Lord, help me to trust in your goodness and greatness for my life, as well as the lives of those I worry over. Help me to live my life with an open hand, and to hold onto your hand tightly. Thank you that your ways are infinitely higher than my own and that it’s in this truth that I can find peace. Amen.