Dear Friend,

Happy December! I hope that this holiday season is a time of blessing and thanksgiving for you. These can be such happy times as we get to celebrate what we have and who we are with, but sometimes the devil can sneak in and try to steal that joy. He might remind us about the things that we don’t have, the people we’ve lost, and the needs that we can’t provide for. That’s why I want to encourage you to seek God this month and let Him fill you with peace and joy in this upcoming season.

Today we’re going to talk about habitual worry. This isn’t the kind of worry that pops up every now and then when you have difficult things going on in your life — this is the kind of worry that keeps on coming even when there is no reason for it. When your thoughts or the conversation you’re in turns to a certain subject, it’s like someone has flipped a switch in your brain, and the worry just starts spilling in. When that particular subject touches your life, a whole string of thoughts and mental processes just tangles up your mind. Maybe for you, this subject is money or work. Maybe it’s your child’s future or your friend’s salvation. Whatever it is, it turns your worry on every time, and that makes it a habit.

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Proverbs 23 talks about the habit of drunkenness, and even though it’s a different habit than we’re talking about, I think it provides such a powerful image of what other bad habits like worry can do to us:

Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?”

—Proverbs 23:31-35

The writer talks about how appealing wine looks, how beautiful and tempting, and we don’t always think about it, but that’s how our flesh sees worry. Our spirit is filled with peace, but our flesh is fallen, and it wants to take any little excuse to make the habit of worry. If we give in, this verse tells us that it won’t be a one-time thing — we will fall asleep in that worry and wake up thirsty for more!

That is a bleak picture, friend, but we don’t have to live like that. 1 Peter 5:8 commands us to be sober and vigilant, and God does not command us to do things that He hasn’t equipped us for. In fact, 2 Corinthians gives us some very clear instructions about taking down those strongholds that the enemy has built up in our minds.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

—2 Corinthians 10:4-6

This verse says that you’re the one with the power here. You’re the one who’s going to bring down that stronghold. You’re the one who’s going to cast that thought down and bring it into captivity. When a thought of worry comes, you have to seize it and say, “No. I’m not going to receive that.”

The Bible tells us, “…Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). That’s all. You and I have resisting power. We have casting-down power against those thoughts of worry. If our worry is habitual, then we just need to be habitual in resisting it and casting it down, and one of the most practical tools God gives us to do all that is His Word. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He didn’t argue with him or try to reason with him. All He did was quote the Word of God, and that put the devil on the run. Friend, if simply quoting the Scriptures is good enough for Jesus, then it is good enough for you and me.

If you don’t know where to find the right verse for your worry, just start with the verse I gave you today. Just say, “God, I see now that this worry is not Your will. I know I don’t have to be a worrier just because I’ve been stuck in it for so long. My weapons are mighty in You, and I can overcome, just like it says in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. I can cast down those thoughts and bring them into obedience to You.”

You might not be feeling like you agree with that verse right now, but the first step is to just declare it to yourself and agree with God, no matter what you are feeling. When you agree with God, you’ll start to have the thoughts of God, and that’s when your feelings will change and agree with your spirit. If you will just take that first step of declaring the truth over yourself, then you will open up your heart and mind for the Holy Spirit to come in and cause your brain to start working in a new way so that you have a whole new habit.

Friend, if this is a struggle for you, we want to pray with you. Prayer is so important for us as Christians, and if worry is interrupting your ability to talk to your heavenly Father, then you need to get rid of that, and we want to help you. You can contact our prayer team by calling 1.844.473.6637 or emailing denisesocial@renner.org. We want to stand with you against whatever is trying to steal your peace, so we hope that you will reach out to us today.

I also want to invite you to join me for my weekly program, TIME with Denise Renner. This month, I am talking all about saying goodbye to worry through God’s blessings, and I am sure that He wants to encourage some of you with these teachings. You can watch live every Monday at 7 AM CT on Facebook and YouTube or every Wednesday at 12 PM CT on just Facebook. My programs are also available for you to watch anytime at renner.org. I hope that you will join me, and I pray that these teachings will help you cast down worry and fear in your life!

We are moving forward together,

Denise Renner