Daily Devotion: Fear Leads to Worry

And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?  

—Matthew 6:27 

Fear and worry are closely related. You might say fear is the parent of every kind of worry because every worry starts as a fear. The Bible clearly teaches that God’s children are not to worry. When we worry, we rotate our minds around and around a problem and come up with no answers. The more we do it, the more anxious we feel. When we worry, we actually torment ourselves with a type of thinking that produces no good fruit. Worry starts with our thoughts, but it affects our moods and even our physical bodies. 

A person can worry so much that it makes them feel depressed and sad. Worry places stress on your entire system and causes a lot of physical ailments like headaches, tension in muscles, stomach problems, and many other things. It never helps, and it does not solve our problems. 

We can worry about hundreds of different things, from what people think of us to what will happen to us as we age. How long will we be able to work? Who will take care of us when we get old? What happens if the stock market crashes? What if gas prices go up? What if I lose my job? Quite often, worry does not even have a basis or a nugget of truth to it. There is no known reason to even think about the things that worry and then frighten us. 

The only answer is to stop worrying by placing your trust in God. He has the future all planned, and He knows the answer to everything. What we worry about frequently never happens anyway, and if it is going to happen, worrying won’t prevent it. God’s Word promises us that He will take care of us if we trust in Him. 

Trust in Him: What are you worrying about? Cast your cares on Jesus. He wants you to trust Him with every thought, burden, and worry that you’re carrying because He’s fully capable of taking care of you (see 1 Peter 5:7).

By Joyce Meyer