3 Worries We Don't Need to Worry About

Sorry I haven’t written in so long, but I usually only write when I feel God has laid a subject on my heart and I can go right into writing it, full gear! I’m going to get real with you all, I worry A LOT! I know, bad Morgan. It consumes my thoughts, what I do, how I feel. I look far too deep into every situation, think about the future constantly, plan what I need to do, and still nothing becomes of it. Here are 3 things that I worry about the most and 9 verses to bounce them right back at Satan. That’s right, we’re going to fight for our weary minds and put all that weight we’ve been carrying right onto God’s shoulders.

Worry #1 “If I don’t have a good career, money, or a lot of possessions, I won’t amount to anything.”

Whoa there, that’s a lot of things to be putting on my plate. Where did this idea even come from in the first place anyways? Part to blame is our vision of the American Dream, the other part is just our human nature to be in constant want of more and more. We fret over never having enough, and yet when we do get that paycheck, that car, that nice house on the hill-our craving isn’t satisfied. What does God say about money and possessions?

Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

1 Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Acts 20:35 "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’"

Overwhelmingly, we see that God wants us to rely on Him for funding and not lean on that bank account, our boss, or our salary for our success, as hard as that sounds. We also find it important not to make money and material possessions a key part of our lives, for this can lead to all kinds of problems, and even separate us from our faith. In the end, hoarding what we earn and keeping it for ourselves leaves us feeling trapped and useless, while giving up our money to where God calls us to give can free us from this burden. Tithing isn’t required, but I’ve had first hand experience on what a difference it can make!

Worry #2 “It would be terrible if I never got married, where is my future husband!?!”

Girls (and probably guys alike, except insert 'wife' instead, haha) you know how this feels. Everyone around you seems paired up and you feel like that leftover in the fridge that everyone forgets about because you’ve accidentally left it behind the milk for two weeks and…well you get my drift. You feel bad. You feel unnoticed, un-admired, and taken for granted. “God, why does she get a guy while all I have is my cat and a Jane Austen movie??” But waiting patiently, not pursuing love at every possible minute, and committing your life completely to God could throw all sorts of surprises your way. Here are some verses we can take with us until then:

Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Jeremiah 29:11-13 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart."

2 Corinthians 6:14 "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?"

God isn’t trying to punish you in anyway, He is forming you into the person you need to be when you do meet that special person. This takes TIME, and maybe for crazy independent girls who travel in a band-A LOT OF TIME. Seek God first, and everything else can fall into place later. Don’t let thoughts of guys (or girls, for the guys who read my blog, sorry!) consume your thoughts so much that it makes talking about Christ or doing His will nearly impossible. These can be major constraints. I put the last on there because unfortunately for many of us, desperate times seem to call for desperate measures. For those of you who think you can change him/her, don’t do it via dating. Missionary dating is never a good answer for yoking yourself with someone who can potentially bring you down majorly in your faith in a very short (and euphoric) amount of time. If you really like them, develop a strong friendship first and let them choose to become a Christian on their own-not faking it for a relationship. I’m sure there are situations where missionary dating has worked, but the risk may not be worth the outcome if it means moving your true love, Jesus, onto the back burner.

Worry #3 “What if people think following God is stupid? What if they don’t like me? I want to please people.”

Why this one gets to me so often, I don’t know, maybe it’s a girl thing. Whenever I meet those people who tell me “I don’t care about others think,” I’m pretty sure my jaw drops to the floor. It’s so hard not to take every glance, action, or word that has been said against you personally. We want our parents, our partners, our managers, our pastors, and many of our peers to find us agreeable. We put on masks so we don’t seem insecure, helpless, and unhappy for the most part because we have too much pride to be transparent. That kid I just thought looked at me funny, he might be going through the same exact thing I am! Heck, we be accountability partners if I spoke up! But we always seem to have to have this tough, “I can handle anything” façade about us because we’re afraid of what others might think of us. Oh no, HEAVEN FORBID THEY ARE THINKING ABOUT ME!!! But for those times of insecurity, here’s those Bible verses to back us up:

Galatians 1:10 "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

Isaiah 2:22 "Stop trusting in mere humans, who have but a breath in their nostrils. Why hold them in esteem?"

2 Corinthians 12:10 "That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

So we see in the first verse, that like the verse on serving both God and money, we can’t always serve both God and people. When you are in ministry and facing persecution, that’s when you know you are doing something right! You are going against the world and with that comes a strong sense of aversion from those who may not understand fully or don’t want to understand it at all. It’s good to take brotherly criticism when presented with it, but anything else hurtful shouldn’t be taken to heart. God has plans for you, loves you unconditionally, and loves that you are following His will despite what others around you are thinking. In the end, doesn’t it make you that much stronger in your beliefs?

Satan attacks the mind fervently, as what we think becomes sadly, what we do. Don’t let worrying get in the way of making some huge differences in people’s lives and turn a heart on fire for God into a mere ember. He delights in you, and you are exactly where He wants you to be-don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. ;)