4 Things Worry Reveals about You

There is a strange, but maybe not so strange, thing that happens when we are overcome by worry; prayer is absent. I realized as the intensity of my worry increased, the consistency of my prayer life decreased. It is hard to pray when you are struggling to trust, and you have little faith. This doesn’t always have to be the case. Some people’s worry drives them to God, but mine had the opposite effect. The worst part is I began to make decisions out of a place of worry and not a place of faith and trust.

When prayer is present, usually worry subsides. But when prayer is absent, worry will increase.

I must address how you overcome worry because there is one antidote to worry, and Jesus gives it to us.

The antidote to worry is to seek God first, before, and above everything else. When we seek him in this manner, we recognize God is our source and it demonstrates our trust and faith in him to provide what we need. As I looked back, I realized something else. We don’t have to worry; we choose to worry. I know this is another one of those hard pills to swallow, but I have discovered it to be true. We can either worry or trust and the fact Jesus tells us don’t worry means we have a choice in the matter.

In 1988 Bobby McFerrin wrote a song called “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” This song provided outlook on life. The main message of the song was that life’s troubles are going to come and when they do, don’t worry, be happy.

Long before Bobby McFerrin ever wrote those words, Jesus gave us the remedy for worry. To play off Mr. McFerrin’s song here is it. Don’t worry, seek God.

Jesus has no desire for you to go through life filled with worry, anxiety, stress, fear, or any of these things. However, he also knows the way to overcome those things is in God’s presence. I hope you will learn from my mistakes and don’t allow worry to overtake you. Learn to seek God in everything you do and in every situation in life. When you do, he will take care of you. That is the promise he made, and he has a pretty good track record of keeping promises. The next time you feel as if worry is rising inside of you, don’t let it win.

Don’t worry, seek God. He is your source, and he will provide. That is something you can depend on so don’t worry.

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Clarence L. Haynes Jr. is a speaker, Bible teacher, and co-founder of The Bible Study Club.  He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose which will help you understand how God leads you into his will. His most recent book is The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. This book will teach you how to put the pieces together so you can live a victorious Christian life and finally become the man or woman of God that you truly desire to be. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has just released his first Bible study course called Bible Study Basics. To learn more about his ministry please visit clarencehaynes.com.