Counselor’s Corner: Cease From Striving From Worry, Reasoning and Fretting

Your body is meant to be balanced in every area-physical, mental and spiritual. You can throw your body out of alignment by excessive worry, reasoning and fretting. When your mind has a negative thought and you don’t take that thought captive, that thought causes you to react and stress hormones are flooded into your body causing a host of problems-anxiety, sickness, weakened immune system and cardiovascular issues. Thoughts precede behavior, so if you think long enough about a problem or a negative circumstance your body will have a reaction!

A definition of worry is to give way to anxiety or unease; or to allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulties or troubles.

Synonyms of anxiety:

Fret

To be concerned

To be anxious

Overthink

Brood

Panic

Lose sleep

Get worked up

Get stressed

Torment oneself

►Did you know that 75-90% of all doctors’ visits are stress-related?

►85% of what you worry about never happens and 15% of what does happen you can handle better than you thought!

Reflect and ponder: Are you in a state of unrest or unbalance? Could excessive worry, reasoning or fretting be responsible? Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “If I were God, I sure would do this?” You cannot trust someone that you do not know. You cannot trust someone to take care of you if you believe they are going to hurt you. What do you really believe about Jesus? Are you upset with Him for not taking care of you in the ways you thought best, and as a result you are not in a state of peace and rest? Do you feel God has let you down and therefore you need to take care of your own life? What do you really know about Papa God and His love for you?

Counselor’s Corner:

With excessive worrying, your mind and body go into overdrive and you constantly focus on “what might happen.” Chronic worry can affect your daily life that it interferes with your appetite, relationships, sleep and job performance.

-Physical Effects of Worry- WEBMD

If you have undergone high levels of stress, trauma, or any type of crisis; you may have unknowingly fallen into the trap of worrying. You may have become hyper-vigilant and super-guarded as a result of the chronic stress you have endured. Falsely, you may now believe if you can “predict and control” what bad events may occur-perhaps then they won’t occur. Worrying never solves anything, but you have learned overtime that by worrying you might can prevent something else bad from happening.

Worry is a sign of deeper anxiety. Get to the “roots” of your worrying. Very common this habit is born in childhood usually due to some type of abuse or trauma of being on the lookout for new trouble. Being on the lookout for troubles can be intensified as you grow into adulthood and more difficulties come your way.

One of the “root” lies that should be dismantled is,” I have to take care of myself, therefore I must find a solution to every problem in my life.” This causes much unrest and it is a result of not being able to trust the most important people in your life, and this got extended to Abba Father. In your mind if you could not trust your mother, father, sister, brother or your spouse than how can you trust God to take care of you? A person who feels that must solve their own problems and take care of themselves is always exhausted, burdened and full of anxiety. You were never meant to carry your load by yourself but life has said to you,” You must not lose control or give up control because if you do everything around you will fall apart.”

Deal with problems as they come, not as you perceive in your imagination what could happen. When you worry it ultimately says that you don’t trust God (and you may not), but don’t beat yourself up for this. God knows your heart and He does not condemn you. Go to the Father and tell Him how you feel and then repent of your fear for not letting Him have full control. Don’t begin to project what may come down the road, and for on-going problems in your life that tempt you into worry-daily surrender these to the Father and let go (daily) and let God take those cares (daily). God knows the trauma in your life that has caused you to live in worry, but He wants to heal you not condemn you!

Worry occurs when you have a problem that cannot be controlled or solved, and helplessness sets in such as when you have a child addicted to drugs and you don’t know where they are at or what they are doing. If you surrender each problem into God’s hands, you can have His rest and peace, but the problem is that many don’t prefer God’s will or His way of doing things. Many times it is hard to see that God’s ways are best. Other times, there is a lack of trust and patience with God. When you let go of the worry, God’s peace can rule over your anxious heart and mind. No one can predict what will happen, and no amount of worry will cause anything in your life to be better-in fact, worry will make things worse! Worry truly does not help, instead it sends signals through your body to be on high alert, and this in turn causes an unbalance though each major system in your body including your brain. Worry robs you of peace, joy, and living in the present. Worry is toxic. Toxic means poisonous or hazardous.

MEDITATE ON THESE SCRIPTURES:

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 minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Peace I leave you; My peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27