How to Handle Worry

One of the things I love about blogging and social media is the people I’ve met whom I might never have known otherwise . One of those people is KM Logan. A fellow writer and mom to three, she has a huge heart for encouraging women. I’m so thankful she has graciously agreed to share some of that encouragement here today.

5 Ways to Turn Worry Around | www.thereisgrace.com

My husband and I were talking the other night, having a pleasant conversation filled with lots of laughter. My husband opened his mouth to let out a good belly laugh when I saw that the bottom row of his teeth looked like they had some plaque build up. (I’m sooo qualified to make that assertion…I mean, I took biology in high school after all).

Instead of pushing the thoughts aside I did what I do best: I jumped to the worst case scenario, and my stomach tightened as I began to worry.

I saw us spending thousands on dental bills. I envisioned us not affording groceries. I imagined my husband’s teeth falling out because we couldn’t afford treatment. I went from having a good time with my husband to seriously stressed out in just 2.5 seconds.

All because of worry.

It didn’t take me long to I realize how senseless my worry was.  I knew if those needs arise, God will take care of them. Even though I knew it, I still worried.

A lot of women admit to struggling with worry, and I am definitely one of them.

I worry about lightning striking our house. I worry about the best place for my family to shelter if there is a tornado. I worry about our roof leaking. I worry about our car breaking down and not being able to afford a new one. I worry about our power grid going down and not having food for our family. And, of course, I worry about terrorist attacks.

I know that if any of these situations arise, God will take care of my family. He will give us wisdom, and He will make a way. I know these things, and yet I worry.

And I sin by worrying.

We give into our flesh when we worry. God did not give us the spirit of fear that consumes so many of us.  Our fears are not from God.  God gives us a spirit of peace and sound mind.

It’s one thing to be faced with a trial and worry about its outcome, but most of us worry about the unknown–the dental bills, tornadoes, and terrorist attacks that haven’t even happened.

When we consume ourselves with what-ifs, and the sin of worry, we drive ourselves away from God.  And for what?  A knotted stomach over something that will probably never take place?

Worry isn’t worth it. It doesn’t bring about anything positive. That’s why we need to nip feelings of worry in the bud before they consume our hearts.

 

Here are a few healthy ways to deal with worry.

1. Memorize Scripture.

When God makes a promise in His word, He means it. He wouldn’t tell us to not worry if worry was something we needed to do. Instead of worrying, God tells us to be courageous:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9)

When you feel worry creeping in, combat it with the truth of God.  The best way to do that is to hide God’s word in your heart, so you’re ready.

Here are some other verses to memorize:  Isaiah 41:10, Joshua 1:5-7,9,  Philippians 4:6-7, Ephesians 6:10-112, Peter 1:3-4,  Psalm 34:4

2. Sing.

Seriously, sing.

I can remember the lyrics to a song easier than I can remember scripture. If you feel worry sneaking into your mind, start singing.  Sing hymns, sing praise choruses, just sing something that will take your mind off the worry and set your mind on the goodness of God.

3. Watch something wholesome and joyful.

There is a reason Proverbs 17:22 says “A cheerful heart is good medicine.”  Joy chases away a multitude of thoughts. Laugh, laugh hard and laugh long. Some excellent Christian comedians you might watch on youtube include: Tim Hawkins, Bob Smiley, Mark Lowrey, and Michael Junior.

4. Turn off the news, block news websites, and don’t watch movies or TV shows about crime.

What you put into your mind will spill over. If you struggle with worry, I challenge you to completely eliminate these things for a week. See if it helps, I can almost guarantee it will.

Now it’s your turn:  What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever worried about and what do you do to combat worry?

kmloganKM Logan is the author of the bestselling book “The ABC’s of Freezer Cooking.”  She blogs at KMLogan.com and the Christian Writing Studio.  You would bless her socks off if you’d stop by and say hi.

9 thoughts on “How to Handle Worry

  1. I am one who is quick to worry. I’ve improved some but I still do a good deal of worrying. Thank you for the tips you’ve shared. Memorizing scripture is one that has really been on my heart, but I really loved the idea of singing! Great post. Glad I made my way here through Tracy’s link-up.
    Blessings,
    Beth

    1. It’s funny, as I was writing the post, singing was one of the last things on the list that I wrote, but as I was typing I realized that’s almost one of the things I always do automatically when my heart is heavy.

  2. I had a good laugh about how you worried over your husband’s teeth. I used to battle worry ALL. THE. TIME. When we first moved to our house 9 years ago (an hour from my husband’s work) I worried if he was 10 minutes late getting home (this was long before we had our first cell phone). He has a tendency to fall asleep while driving, which compounded my fears. One time I talked to him just before he left work and an hour later he was still not home. The minutes dragged into another hour. By then I was beside myself. I began to look for a police officer coming down the road (to tell me the news of my husband’s fatal accident). Plans formed in my mind as to who I would call (our pastor would need to go with me to identify the body). Then I started planning his funeral. Oh my word, how awful that was! He finally pulled into the drive 90 minutes late and instead of being relieved that he had made it home, I was FURIOUS that he had caused me to worry.

    Obviously, the Lord had a major work to do in me to free me from the bondage of worry. I’ve been working on a blog post about how I conquered this sin. Thanks for sharing this here today!

  3. Worry no more.

    I would love to see other moms splashed as well. We could use your ideas. Your tips. Your stories. Your photos. Your anything mom.

    I compose some notes on Monday. I get the momma schedules. So hop over any day of the week (think link up whenever it works best for you) and join us. Real moms. Sharing our notes. Creating a momma melody.

    Splashin’ Momma,
    Sarah

    http://justsarahdawn.blogspot.com/2013/06/slosh-grace.html

  4. Awesome tips, KM! I used to struggle with worry a lot more than I do now. I would joke that I was an “equal opportunity” worrier, lol!

    I can’t remember anything in particular but I do remember how I could immediately jump to a scenario and bury myself or someone else. I, too, did the “planning” thing to be “prepared,” lol!

    God has truly done a great work in my heart. I still have my moments, of course, but nothing like I did.

    I find that it’s hard to think truth when you’re worried about something, so I would write down comforting Bible verses on 3×5 cards and carry them around with me in my purse. That way, I didn’t have to worry about memorizing and recalling if I was having trouble with keeping my mind focused.

    I also did a little Scarlett O-Hara thing and said that I’d worry about it “tomorrow.” Well, tomorrow would come and I would either forget about it or it just wasn’t a concern anymore!

    Thanks for sharing and thanks, Nancy, for linking up to “Making Your Home Sing Monday” today! I’d love it if you’d give a courtesy link back to the linky party. Thanks! 🙂

    1. Thanks so much for stopping by! I love Moms the Word link-up! I am working on creating a page of all the link-ups I link to, so basically a one-stop linky page. Hope to have it up soon! Thanks for the reminder (and the patience! :))

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