Monthly Devotional

Is Worry Bad for You?

October 2008

Be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1Thes. 5:16-18)

“Is worrying bad for you?” Christine asked from the dark safety of her top bunk as I came to say good night.

“You have to do a lot of it before it will hurt you,” I answered, trying to calm her fears. Tough question to answer. Overloading my eleven-year-old entering middle school would only get her wheels spinning. She needed to return to a passage from Philippians that comforted her in her toddler years.

As a preschooler, Christine was terrified of snakes. Her irrational obsessive fear that they would join her in her toddler bed kept her awake at night.

“I’m afraid they might bite me,” she confessed on a warm August evening as I tucked her in bed.

“There are no snakes in the house,” I answered, smoothing her bedspread, and bending over to kiss her goodnight.

“But they might come in my room and climb in my bed.” Christine answered as if she hadn’t been listening to my response and couldn’t feel the warmth of my kiss.

“Mommy and Daddy will keep you safe. You don’t have to worry about snakes.” I turned out the lights, discouraged. Why couldn’t I calm her fears?

I could not explain why snakes slithered into her thoughts, but nightly I tried to bring her peace by creating a rational answer to each worry. Some arguments were less rational and more creative. I invented reasons why snakes would not get in her bed with her. Snakes don’t climb stairs. Snakes can’t crawl across the carpet. We don’t have poisonous snakes around our house. But nothing could assuage her fears. She stuffed a baby blanket under her sheets and around her legs as protection. And almost every night I heard her plaintive pleas.

 “Mommy...could you come here?” she called out for me to return. I was tired and out of ideas. Finally, I sat down on her bed, sighing in desperation. Remembering a friend’s card on my bulletin board, I thought through the handwritten verses from Philippians 4:6-7:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.

“Let’s give thanks for the fears,” I began. “And for the snakes.”

“Why would I want to do THAT?” she exclaimed, sitting up. She had a point. It was an unusual strategy.

“Well it worked for Mommy.” I answered, “One time Mommy was worried about something and I thanked God for the problem and it helped.

Christine leaned forward and frowned. “What were you worried about?” she asked.

“Oh something Mommies worry about,” I answered vaguely, not wanting to delve into the world of adult fears. “So, let’s pray.” I thanked God for her fears and I thanked God for snakes and I stroked her head and back. By the end of the prayer she was relaxed and nearly asleep. Peace. I felt so thankful. I think she was, too.

Fears take time to dissipate; I didn’t expect a radical turnaround. The next evening I came to kiss her goodnight and braced myself for the onslaught of questions.

“Tonight let’s just skip the other stuff,” she began.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

"Just go straight to the prayer, ” she explained. Then I understood. Christine had experienced what it felt like to have the peace of God guard her heart and mind.

I smiled. An answer from the Word led to an answer from prayer. Too often I go to the “other stuff.” But from a pre-kindergartener’s heart comes the real answer, a promise from God for all our worries, “Skip the other stuff, go straight to prayer.”

Why do we often do all the other stuff before we pray? Why does it take worry and fears to bring us to the throne of our Creator, Savior, Lord, Father, Friend?

Are you worried about something? Do you lay in bed at night thinking about it and obsessing about what could happen? You are not alone. God is there with you—waiting to hear your fears and concerns, your thankfulness, your heart. Now is a good time to talk to Him about it.

Lord, I bring you my concerns and fears. I can't handle them, but you can. I thank you that you are bigger than my worries and fears. I thank you that  I can completely trust you. You have my best interests at heart. I submit to you. Please work in and through me by the power of your Holy Spirit. Replace my panic with peace. May the peace of God, the peace that passes all understanding, rule in my heart. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

Copyright © 2008 - Ann Marie Stewart. All rights reserved.

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