Worry About Worrying

The Perpetual Cycle of Worry

Do you ever worry so much that you will only worry more about worrying and the endless thoughts of worry will never end? Do you worry to the point that you pay it no mind until you realize consciously that in your subconscious, the worry never left, instead you set it aside only to return to it later?

The perpetual cycle of worry is said to be self-inflicted. A prison of the mind to which the walls can seem impossible to scale based on the lies we tell ourselves. Our perception may seem as truthful as the earth is round, yet too often our perceptions are misguided, leading to self-sabotage.

Life can be a cluster of difficulties, mishaps, and disruptions that can lead to worry and fear. Life can be downright intimidating at times. A wayward child, inflation, a job that seems shaky, a disengaged spouse, and there is not enough room on any number of pages to lay out the many stressors that lead to the worry equation.

A Far Too Familiar Place

Worry can become a frequented place in which we become familiar. It can be a place where we run when uncertainty overwhelms us. Worry overwhelms the present, and stifles our hope for tomorrow. There is no way to win when our life revolves around worrying about the unknown or the unseen. It removes the hope upholder and leaves us buried under the burden of worry to which there is no cure. When we worry we grow weary.

In Matthew 6:34 Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

What Jesus wrote to His followers over 2,000 years ago was not meant just for those of that day, but He knew that we too would find ourselves in this very spot. Consumed by worry for tomorrow steals our today, and keeps us from being the man that He has called us to be. We are unable to be effective in the now when in our minds we are overcome by our tomorrows.

Faulty Thinking Patterns

We certainly did not happen upon worry overnight and may have dealt with worry for several years. Faulty thinking patterns have gotten us to where we are. However, there is a hope and a real peace that can only be found in Jesus.

Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

When we begin daily to put into practice setting our eyes vertically and away from the worry that ensnares us, we will begin to see change. It may be subtle, but the more we move away from faulty thinking patterns victory can be just on the other side.

If we expect change to take place by simply doing what we’ve been doing all along, we will continue to remain on the carousel of worry only to find ourselves in the same spot.

Prayer Is The Active Ingredient

Prayer is the active ingredient that activates real lasting change. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves and He offers us peace of mind and hope for today. We must talk to Him daily and make a conscious effort to seek real change.

When worry tries to captivate our minds, push back in prayer. When worry has seeded itself, step back, and redirect with a simple prayer. A simple prayer will take our mind off what ails us and in turn, it enables us to set our eyes on Jesus and away from the worry. This will not happen overnight and bad habits are often difficult to break. But sitting back and repeating the familiar will only hold us back from reaching the freedom made available to us through Christ.

Live more and worry less. Onward and upward my friend.