Lay Down the Fear
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ––Matthew 6:34
Sometimes the past seems so much better than the present or future. We often romanticize the past or think of it in only positive shades of light, when in fact there was probably darkness too. We have an adversary who doesn’t want us to live in the now—in reality. He wants to keep us focused on the past or worrying about the future. When our minds and hearts are occupied on times other than today, we miss out. We may “show up” for work, for dinner with the family, for after-bath story time with the kids. The lights may be on, but nobody’s home.
Here’s a crazy fact that should be encouraging for all of us, as reported in Psychology Today: “The average person reported three to four testable worries per day. The result? A whopping 91 percent of worries were false alarms. And of the remaining 9 percent of worries that did come true, the outcome was better than expected about a third of the time.” In other words, we worry too much. But again, that’s the enemy’s plan. So why is it so important to live in the now? Because the present is the place where and when God speaks to us. When we’re preoccupied with yesterday or tomorrow, we can’t show up today.
Corrie ten Boom and her family were responsible for helping and sheltering nearly 800 Jews escaping the horrors of the Holocaust during World War II. They lived in occupied Denmark and knew at any time that they could be found out and imprisoned, or worse. So they probably knew a little bit about worry. That makes ten Boom’s description even more relevant: “Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.”
Tell me your greatest fear and I will show you where the enemy is hitting you the hardest. Is life frightening at times? Yes. And fear is a natural emotion. It’s what we do with those inevitable fears that matters. Remembering that ninety percent of our fears will never come true is a good, practical start. Surrendering the rest of them into the care of the Father who loves you is even better.
Father, I surrender my worries to you; help me live in the present.
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“How Often Do Worries Come True?” by Seth Gillhan, PhD, July 19, 2009. Psychology Today.
https://www.biography.com/activists/corrie-ten-boom