Just to recap 2014 so far: I'm working on serving God and staying focused. Which, of course, means I immediately noticed how easily distracted I am. (For those of you who've seen the movie "UP", it can easily be summed up in one word: SQUIRREL!!!!)
For whatever reason, I've been more anxious lately, worrying about lots of things, big and small. Most often, of course, in the middle of the night.
And, yes, I'm well aware of the verses about worrying: I shouldn't worry about the everyday things of life, because God knows every hair on my head. And from Phillipians, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phillipians 4:6.
These verses help, but it's still a struggle for me sometimes.
Then I read a life changing statement (wish I could remember where I read it, but so far, no luck): The things that we worry over are the things over which we have no control.
Think about that for a moment. If we could do something about it, we would -- and then we wouldn't worry about it anymore! But the matter is taken out of our hands and quite possibly, it never should have been there in the first place. We've become like Atlas (pictured above, thanks to the miracle of Google Images), carrying the world on our shoulders - and we were never asked to.
Now, maybe it's just me, but this was mind-blowing. And it's truly changing the way I think. When I feel myself slipping down the path of worry, I'm learning to stop that thought process. Is this really something that I can do anything about? If it is, then the triple A personality in me is more than willing to outline a plan of action. But if it's not, well, THEN I know I'm in a Phillipians 4:6 situation. I can't do anything about it, which means I'm probably not supposed to. You know that expression "All we can do is pray?" BINGO!!!
Only then does the verse following Phillipians 4:6 make sense:
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