Do you worry?

I recently looked up the word “worry” in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and it said:

“To choke or strangle.”

“To harass by tearing.”

“Biting or snapping especially at the throat.”

Honestly, I had to look at the Merriam-Webster app on my phone 3 times, just to make sure I was really reading the definition for WORRY!

“Did I type in the word “WORRY”??? I thought to myself. I don’t know what I expected it to say, maybe something like “a condition that all humans struggle with.”

But it didn’t say that, it said things like:

“To touch or disturb something repeatedly”

“To assail with rough or aggressive attack or treatment: torment”

WHAT?

To worry is to torment? I would have never thought that was the definition of worry. The Bible talks about the “tormentors” and is often referring to the enemy of our soul, satan, who comes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10).

When I think about my times of extreme worry, it surely does kill my joy, steal my peace, and destroy my hope.

So by letting myself worry, I am basically letting myself be tormented… ugh…  I am basically tormenting myself… whoa.

I always thought “to worry about someone” was a kind gesture. I am starting to rethink that, to strangle or choke someone doesn’t sound kind to me.

When I googled (just out of curiosity) what the opposite of “worry” was, I got a few different answers. The top answer on the google search was from “Yahoo Answers” and it said the opposite of worry is “peace and confidence,” peace and confidence in WHAT I wondered.

A few results down I saw one answer that said the opposite of worry is “non- worry” uhm…not exactly what I was look for. Non choking and strangling? That’s just weird.

Then about 5 results down it said that worry is the opposite of faith, so of course being a “word nerd” (as my friend Sarah Ott would say) I looked up the word faith, I mean what does the word faith really mean in the good ole Merriam-Webster? 

It says faith is an allegiance to duty or person, a fidelity to one’s promises or sincerity of intentions, a belief in something for which there is no proof, complete trust”

So worry is the opposite of faith. Faith meaning to trust. So who do you TRUST?

Your mom, dad, your husband, wife, yourself, your therapist, your pastor even??? Or God Himself, the One who created the Universe. The One who knit you together in your mother’s womb, the One who knows the end from the beginning, the One who knows every hair on your head!

That is a question you have to ask yourself and answer for yourself.

Who or what do you worry about? Have you ever thought about giving them or “it” (that thing that torments you) back to the Creator of the Universe?

Join me in a little exercise! Shut your eyes (well read this first), imagine God, and imagine God’s BIG HAND!

Now imagine all the people you tend to worry about, imagine them all lined up in front of God!

Now can you let them all climb up into God’s mighty hand? It may take some time, I did this once and there were hundreds of people (I had no idea I worried about all of these people)

Does God have them all?

Great!

Now imagine yourself with a big heavy backpack full of things you tend to worry about! Imagine yourself standing in line with all your friends and family as they climb into the Hand of God (Creator of the Universe) once they are all safe and snug in His hands, can you now throw that backpack into His hands as well?

Awesome!

Now, can you see yourself? Turn your head, look beside you; do you see Jesus smiling at you? Can you turn around and walk away hand and hand with Jesus, trusting your most PERFECT Heavenly Father has all of those people and all of those worries in His care?

Rest in this thought and then comment below and let us know how it went!