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Do You Worry?
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:4-7, NIV
One thing that my friends say about me is that I am an overthinker and it is true. I tend to overthink a lot of things. Sometimes it can be the jokes they make or just how they look at me when I say something. And this isn’t just something done with my friends, but with my family, my students, my colleagues and Parishioners. In many different situations with people, I tend to overthink some things.
As I have gotten older and time has passed, I have been better at not letting my overthinking run rampant. Now, there are times that it still does. I become consumed with the thoughts and, as my friends say, I spiral. I go from overthinking to being consumed by my worry and anxiousness. And when this happens, I must remind myself of this passage in Philippians.
This is a passage I share with friends, family, students and anyone struggling with worry or anxiousness. You see, the Lord knows that I overthink and worry and He knows you do as well, even though He tells us not to in Matthew 6:25-34. Since He knows that we worry, He gives us instruction through Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
Paul instructs us to pray when we are anxious or worried. He tells us to present our request to God with thanksgiving and then a peace we can never comprehend will guard our hearts and minds. Isn’t that beautiful? A peace that makes no sense will guard us. We can entrust all our difficulties to Christ and rejoice because the Lord is near and wants us to bring our burdens, our worries, our struggles, to Him. Rejoice because the Lord our God loves us and cares for us, to give us peace, in our hardest times.
Do you overthink like me? What are you worried or anxious about? Present them to God and rejoice in the Lord and the peace that guards your heart and will help you through your struggles.
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