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Trust God to give you strength.
If you're a chronic worrier, you probably use a lot of tricks to keep from getting buried in fear. One trick may be to ask, "What's the worst-case scenario in this particular situation?" With that image fresh in your mind, you plot how you'd deal with the outcome. After that, any lesser harm seems simple. But it's still worrisome. Chronic worriers have a hard time actually letting go of their worries.
Habakkuk 3:16-19 shows us that a message from God can be not just a worry but a promise—from God. His country was going to be destroyed. Habakkuk pictured how his country would look: the barren fields, the dead trees, the empty animal stalls. He might have waved his arms and cried, "I can't take it; let me die before this happens." But he didn't.
Instead, Habakkuk sang a prayer of praise to God. He recounted God's past goodness in rescuing his people (3:12). He told God how his fears made him feel: "Rottenness entered my bones; and I trembled in myself" (3:16). Then he described the worst-case scenario—and sang of his committed trust in God.
Worriers, take heart. Even when the worst happens, God will give you strength. (See also Joshua 23:14-16; Psalm 91; Micah 5:2-5; Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:4-9.)
Habakkuk 3:17-19 says, "Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; he will make my feet like deer's feet, and he will make me walk on my high hills."
What's your worst-case scenario? If you trust God, how might your perspective change?
Do what you can in a single day.
Have you ever felt as if worry about something really did help? Maybe you feel as if it earns you a positive outcome to a difficult situation. After all, you worked hard by worrying, so it should turn out well. Or you're a Murphy's Law buff and think that if you always plan for the worst, it won't happen.
But worrying not only ties you up emotionally, it hurts your relationship with God. By worrying, you're saying you're in control of circumstances, that you can manipulate the situation with your worry. In truth, God's in charge. While it can be hard to trust him to work for your good, trust is hard work that pays off. You'll experience a peace in difficult situations that equips you to respond better.
Trusting God also helps to limit your "worry" to what can be done today. Maybe all that can be done today is to greet someone civilly, eat a healthy dinner, or pay the one bill you do have money for. Figure out what you can do today and do it; then turn the rest over to God. (See also Joshua 23:14-16; Psalm 91; Micah 5:2-5; Habakkuk 3:16-19; Philippians 4:4-9.)
Jesus said, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:34).
