It seems like we’re always in some state of worry — we’re in it or being tempted to do it or fighting against it, but we’re never quite out of it. When a concern comes, maybe a very natural concern that you do need to think about, your mind starts saying, “Oh, you need to think about that a little bit more. You need to know what happens if you fail. You need to think about what happens if it doesn’t work out.” Our minds just take that concern or that fear and keep cycling it around in our brains, and soon, instead of walking in peace that God purchased for us, we’re walking in the arena of our own thoughts and feelings. 

When this happens, we often feel overwhelmed by worry, and we think that it is something that we just can’t control or do anything about, but that’s not true. It is true that worry can feel overpowering at times, but don’t we have a God who is so much greater than that? So then why do we still worry?

A good way to understand this problem is to look at it from the other side, and the opposite of worry is peace, so let’s see what peace looks like according to Isaiah 41:10:

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

In this verse, the Bible says very clearly, “Fear not.” Friend, we’ve all known fear, and we know that it says, “I’m alone,” “I have to do this myself,” “Nobody cares,” “I can’t,” and “What if…?” Fear keeps pounding us with all of these words that destabilize us, but this verse says, “Fear not.” Very simple. Why should we not fear? The verse tells us that too: because God is with us. Then it says not to be dismayed, not to let anxiety or worry or pain settle in our hearts, because He is our God. He is on our side, within us, so there is no reason that we should have to let fear and worry be anywhere near our hearts. He promises that He will strengthen us and uphold us. 

Now this was written in the Old Testament, but we know that it works for us as believers, too, because Ephesians 6:10 tells us so:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

This verse isn’t telling us to be strong in a way where we grit our teeth and just bear this problem. No, it’s talking about being strong in the power of the Holy Spirit that’s on the inside of us. When you get born again, you get this magnificent power on the inside, not just a little power but the power of an army. You have an army on the inside of you standing against the enemy!

Why Do We Still Worry?

Now that we understand peace a little better, we still need to answer our original question, so I want to give you one more picture.

Just earlier this year, I had the privilege of going to see Noah’s Ark in Turkey. The ark was so magnificent and huge, but it was a bit rugged, so as we were climbing up it, I was leaning on my son Paul. I had a stick in my right hand and he was holding me by my left, and I leaned on him as we climbed that steep slope, and I’m sure that without being able to lean on him, I wouldn’t have made it to the top.

This is what happens when we realize that God is on our side. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Right there, it says, “Lean on Him, not on yourself.” God is so powerful, and He promised that He would strengthen and uphold us, so why shouldn’t we lean on Him?

Well, friend, that’s where worry comes in. If I had chosen not to lean on the strength of my son as we climbed, I couldn’t have done it, so why would I have resisted his help? Because of pride. That’s the secret, friend. Worry is when we resign ourselves to being the ones who are going to settle the problem. We’re holding that problem so tightly in our hands and saying, “I can do this.” But when we act with humility, we can say, “Lord, I might be able to do this a little bit, but I need your help. I am going to quit trusting in myself, and I am going to lean on your right hand.”

Friend, we have incredible power, because faith will always overcome fear. The Bible says we could overcome the whole world with our faith, so we can absolutely overcome a few little worries. We have the power to say, “No, worry. No, thoughts. I’m not listening to you. I’m shutting you off and I’m planting my mind in the Word of God.

I’m telling you, friend, we’ve got to let go of what we’re worried about and put it in His hands. Let Him have it. Lean on Him. If we aren’t doing that, then we’re being prideful! We’re trying to control everything ourselves and not let Him take it, and that is pride, friend. You have to understand this, because this can really get us into trouble.

The Bible talks about pride at the end of 1 Peter 5:5:

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

He resists the proud. He stands against them. Friend, we do not want God to resist us, so we need to be humble. If we do, this verse says that He gives grace to us, so even better than Him not resisting us, He will be merciful when we confess our mistakes humbly.

The next verses say even more about this beautiful promise of God’s character:

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

There is so much in these verses for us, friend. First, we see that God resists pride. He doesn’t want it at all, and that makes us want to acknowledge it and say, “Lord, I’m sorry. I have been proud, and I worry about this and have not trusted you with it.” Then, it tells us that He loves it when we humble ourselves and say, “Lord, I give you this.” He draws close and gives us grace when we do that. And what is the next step? The next step is that He exalts us in due time. We humble ourselves so that we can receive His grace and power at just the right moment, the moment where it is going to be the most effective and powerful. That’s the power of humbling ourselves before Him!

This verse even tells us why we should do this. It’s not because we get a reward out of it. It’s not just because God is powerful, which He is. It’s not because it’s His job. It’s right there in verse 7: It’s because He cares about you. This God with all the power to take down every kind of worry cares for you, and He wants you to cast your cares on Him. He wants you to lean all your weight on Him, because He wants you to live in peace, not in worry and torment.

He wants peace for us, friend, but we have to make the choice to stop worrying, and it is a choice. Our flesh will want to worry, and it will want to be prideful and resist God’s help, but we have to see that worry for what it is. Even if we aren’t feeling it right now, we have to say, “God, I am making the choice to give this worry to you. I know you are powerful and in control even if I want to handle it by myself.” We have to be in God’s Word and talking to Him so that when the worry comes and we want to be prideful and handle it ourselves, we have the Holy Spirit to point it out to us and show us the right way to act.

That’s the wonderful thing about our God, friend — He doesn’t expect us to handle it on our own. It’s our choice, but we aren’t all alone trying to make that choice. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit. We can pray so simply, “Lord, I see that my worrying is not getting me anywhere. It’s like I’m on a treadmill, and all I do is go on and on without getting anywhere. I need your help to get off that treadmill.” You can just open your mouth right now and say, “Lord, I don’t know. Lord, I don’t understand. Lord, I can’t do this. ” That’s okay. He knows that you don’t, and He knows that you can’t. That’s why He wants to help you!

Friend, Matthew 11:28-30 tells us that God does not want us carrying a heavy burden. He doesn’t want us to be crushed under this worry, because He didn’t create us to carry that. If you’re struggling with worry today, if you can’t get rid of that pride that says, “I can handle this, God. I don’t need help,” then I hope you will just take a moment today to admit to yourself that that is a lie. Even if you don’t feel it yet, just let yourself say to God and yourself, “Actually, that’s not true. I can’t handle this.” You might not yet be ready to make the choice to just lean on Him, but when you admit that you need help, the Holy Spirit will come to you and start working in your heart, and in God’s perfect time, He will fulfil that work and set you free from your worry.