Worries Come In Bunches Sometimes. 7/7/2018

Good Morning,

I hope this morning ramble finds all of you smiling and content. I am at peace, sitting at my desk writing with our Springer Spaniel watching my every move and a cup of Door County White Christmas Coffee at my side.

Today I want to talk about worries, worrying, and worry. It seems that life just has us preoccupied with being anxious about something almost every day. Change comes about or is imminent and it might be something we can do nothing about. So we worry and stay awake thinking about consequences or solutions, yet we have no control. We worry about jobs. spouses, children, health, money, automobiles, pets, homes  the list goes on and on. I recall being out on a date with my wife when on the way home the music from our car radio was interrupted with some urgent news. A tornado had gone through a neighborhood near by. The more we listened, the easier it was to worry, because we learned that it was our neighborhood. We worried and fretted about our belongings, pet, our other car, and where we would stay. I pictured my clothing hanging in trees and our dog being found in Kansas or the Land Of Oz. None of this worry was going to help at all. It only made me sick to my stomach. We arrived home and there was some minor damage to the house, one picnic table was missing, (found later and still using it since 1997) and we laid our dog to rest in 2000 after a long life. My clothes were still hanging in the closet. Even if we were wiped out completely, would worry have done anything to help us? NO!!! It just made things worse.

Some folks just can't deal with worry and they end up sick, taking medication for ulcers and nervous disorders. Others kill the worry with alcohol or drugs which have their own bad consequences. While others turn it over to God and seem to weather the storms of life easier and with less stress. I have compiled 20 verses on worry to help you and me through those times. Feel free to share.

1. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matt 6:34 NIV
2. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  Phil 4:13 NIV
3. Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:31 NIV
4. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matt 6:25-27 NIV
5. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. Luke21:14NIV
6. Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22 NIV
7. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
8. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken..  Psalm16:8 NIV
9. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  Psalm 62:6 NIV
10.  Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings Psalm 17:8 NIV
11. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.  Psalm 91:4 NIV
12. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10 NIV
13. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
14. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28 NIV
15. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. Psalm 28:7 NIV
16. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:1-2 NIV
17. They will have no fear of bad news;  their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.  Psalm 112:7 NIV
18. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding Proverbs 3:5 NIV
19. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place. Deut 1:31 NIV
20. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Phil 4:6-7 NIV

Have a worry free day, or at least turn them over to God.

Marty