Warrior, Not Worrier

by Charmain Hibberd
Marketing Assistant (Writer), CBN Europe
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Sometimes life has a way of making worriers out of us, doesn’t it?
Have you ever experienced this…?
You’re going through something challenging in your life and you turn to God for guidance and direction by reaching for His Word. When you open the scriptures, what you read and discover is exactly what you need to hear! This happened to me recently…
When problems arise
A series of events occurred that meant I was in need of a new home. Rather than trust God as my Provider, the one who goes before me and hems me in from behind, I began to fret.
What if the next house is not suitable? What will my neighbours be like? What will be the required deposit? And on and on the fretful thoughts went.
It was then that I opened my devotional book and the word and verse for the day was on rest produced by prayer.
The devotion talked about how we can become anxious, worried and even irritable when we are constantly thinking about a problem. Scrambling for answers we simply do not have is not a nice place to exist!
Worry is potentially one of the most futile and exhausting states to live in.
Erma Bombeck (an American comedic writer) is famously quoted as putting it like this:
“Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere”
Return to the source
The Bible has plenty to say about worry, fear and trusting God. There are verses upon verses on being strong and courageous in the Lord, guarding our hearts and not being anxious about anything.
The problem is not with the amount of exhortation or guidance we have in our relationship with Jesus.
The problem is in actioning these verses.
When you are hard pressed or a circumstance in life comes along to distract you from your path, what are you going to do?
Are you going to give into worry, fear and anxiety or are you going to turn to Jesus for help and trust that what He says is true?
‘I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.’
(Isaiah 46:4 NLT)
The above promise is pretty black and white.
God confesses that He made us and that He will care for us, carrying us along this road called life.
We have a choice.
We can sit in our proverbial rocking chairs all day long, going back and forth in our circumstances and getting nowhere. The alternative is to rise up as warriors, not worriers, and declare scripture over our lives and our situations.
‘The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.’
(Zephaniah 3:17 NIV)
Friends, we have not been given a spirit of fear or of timidity, but of power and love and of sound judgment (see 2 Timothy 1:7 CSB).
When external events threaten to rob us of our peace, let’s remember who we are and whose we are and go to war with the situation, rather than sit in worry.
If you are in a challenging situation and are struggling with worry and fear, please reach out to us through our Prayer Centre. We would count it a privilege to stand with you in prayer. You can call us on 0300 561 0700 between the hours of 8am and 7:30pm, Monday to Friday. Or you can submit a prayer request online here.
