Feeling Better: Devotions From Time Of GraceSample

My Mind: I worry all the time

What is it that transforms normal basic human prudence (good) into worry (bad)? I think it is this: the gut-level urge to assume the worst in every possible outcome. Is Daddy late coming home from work? He must be dead in a ditch. Did I get a bad grade in that class? I’m going to fail the semester. Are we invited to your parents’ house? I will probably say or do something stupid and then they’ll all think I’m a brainless twit.

The best Rx for worriers? The gospel. The more we marinate in the gospel of Christ, the more we become optimists and look for and expect good outcomes to the unknowns in our lives. This is the gospel: that God chooses to look past our sins and see good in us . . . that God chooses to get involved in our lives to make good things happen . . . that God actually makes our hardships become blessings for us . . . that God always has the last word in every situation.

What are the worries that are dragging down your heart right now? Money? Your job? Your marriage? Your lack of a marriage? Your health? The gospel helps you pray like this: “In the day of trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me” (Psalm 86:7).