The Fog of Worry

Dear Friends,
Have you ever driven in a fog so thick you couldn’t even see to the end of your vehicle? Even if it was midday, it felt like the blackest of night to you.

That is what worry is like. When we worry, it’s as if a curtain of fog is right in front of our face. All we see is the issue at hand and nothing else, making it impossible to move forward.

You might have gotten the following advice as too how to handle worry:

• Just give your concerns to God.
• Replace the worrying thoughts with thoughts of good things.
• Look for who is worse off than you and realize how blessed you are.
• Think through what would happen if your worry came true, if the worst actually happened.
• Ask God to command Satan to leave you alone.

All of these are very valid. All are a necessary part of overcoming worry. But I believe that there is a step or two that has to happen before any of these are possible. I believe we need God to reveal himself to us first. Most likely the cause of the fog – the inability to see your way forward – is a fear we have that is based on a misconception of God.

Think about it: You are worrying about getting a job. You fear being destitute, not being able to provide for yourself and others. You fear being a failure, being seen as worthless. And those fears are coming from the belief – whether consciously or unconsciously – that if God really cared about you, really loved you, he would not let this happen to you.

To me the way to work through worry is
1. Understand first what you fear.
2. Then ask God to reveal the untruths you believe about him.
3. Confess those beliefs as sin and ask God what you should believe.
4. Then in faith you are ready to do all those things that we listed above

a. Give your concerns to God.
b. Replace the worrying thoughts with thoughts of good things.
c. Realize how blessed you are and pray for others who are struggling.
d. See God taking care of you even if the worst happens.
e. Ask God to command Satan to leave you alone.

To leave fears unattended, to put them in a corner by saying that Christians shouldn’t fear so I won’t, is not being honest and is not giving God the chance to dissolve them. You will only continue in the fog of worry. What a lousy way to go through life!!

Remember – feelings reveal beliefs which have led to behaviors. To correct behaviors allow God to surface and alter what you are feeling and the beliefs behind them.

Psalm 42:5 (NLT)
Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Saviour and my God!

BEV: Dear Father, you know what I am worrying about. What do I fear in this situation?

ANSWER: You fear that things will never change for the better. It’s not that you believe that I can’t change the situation, you lost hope that I will. Do you also think that I can’t?

BEV: I guess I wonder, because of the whole free will thing, if you can.

ANSWER: I know it’s hard to understand how I can be sovereign and yet give everyone the ability to choose, but you are forgetting the great pull my pure love has, how it has drawn humanity to me throughout the ages. I will unleash my powerful love in the situation you are worrying over. I will be impossible to resist. Depend on me!!

BEV: Oh Lord, I have been compelled by your love over and over again. I trust you to do the same in this situation as well. I trust you!! Thank you.

Don’t let Satan rob you of true life through worry. Life is too short and precious.

Blessings from Bev