Worry

Worry might start as just something small on our mind, but it can very easily begin to grab more of us until it is consuming so much of our time and energy.

Sometimes it is big things we are worrying about but others times it is something we know is small but we just can’t shake it out of our mind.

Many people struggle with worry and anxiety, men, women, young, old, married, unmarried, those who believe in a God and those who don’t.

It would be great to chat with you about things that will help you to feel more full of hope and purpose, and to pray for you if that is something you would like.

You are more than just a physical body, you also have a spiritual side to us. You really need to think about how to help the whole of you and not just your physical body. 

Why do we worry?

It is good to think about why we do it and why we want to stop doing it. Often we worry because we feel that everything is out of our control and we don’t trust that the outcome is going to be okay.

But for some people there may be another reason that causes them to worry – maybe a bad past experience which you feel is going to become the pattern for how things will go in the future.

It can be really helpful to think about why you want to stop? – what is motivating you to stop worrying?

Some people find worrying something they would prefer to cling on to rather than let go of – if that’s how you feel then again it’s good to ask ourselves why you feel like that? Are we getting some security from your worry?

Motivation is important in breaking free from any thing that has a hold on us – why do you want to be free from worry? Is the anxiety making you unwell? Is worry preventing you from sleeping? Is the worry stopping you from being able to make decisions? Is anxiety getting in the way of you having a friendship with God?

How? Where? When?

Do you always worry about everything and anything? Or is your anxiety normally focused around something in particular?

Are there certain times of day when you worry? or particular days or times of the year when worry is worse?

Do you only worry when you are alone? or in the middle of the night? or is worry always with you even when you are busy with other people?

Let someone else be in charge

When our happiness depends upon us being able to make certain things happen or not happen, then we feel at peace while we have control. But when we lose control we feel like things are not how they should be, and we worry about what will happen next or where this uncontrollable situation may end up.

We can’t ever control every outcome to make it just right, instead we need to let go and allow someone else to be in charge, let someone else take responsibility.

Some people find it helpful to pass this responsibility over to their husband or wife, or their mother or father and this can be helpful, but we must remember that they are only human and so will make mistakes some of the time and you would have to accept this will happen sometimes.

It is far better instead to put your trust in Jesus – he promises that if we follow him then he will make sure that everything works together for our good. That kind of promise can give you real peace and hope, even in the darkest storm.

Focus on now not later

Many of the things we worry about are not actually here at the moment, we just feel we can see them coming!

If you are worrying about something that may be coming your way then often you can get some level of peace by focusing on how things are now, at this very moment.

Take a deep breath, and try and force the worried thought out of your mind by replacing them with thoughts about those who care about you. If you think nobody cares about you then we would love the opportunity to explain how that’s not true… because Jesus cares about you.

Think about the spiritual you

Do you believe there is a God? Have you ever spent time trying to learn about who Jesus is, what he did and why he did it?

When you believe that Jesus loves you and is deeply interested in you it gives you a different picture of the world around you and of what your life is all about. It gives you a new hope and a new focus outside of yourself.

The more you get to know the real Jesus of the Bible, the more you will want to live to make Him happy and this will also then become a great motivation to keep on going no matter how low and bad you feel. Jesus cares about you – he wants you to know his peace and his acceptance and forgiveness. He wants you to know Him and how much he loves you.