Breaking Free From Worry: Trusting God with Your Opportunities

What drives you? Is it your family? Your dreams?

For me, it has been worry. Worry has driven me to obtain multiple degrees, serve people in multiple ways, and open multiple businesses. I have worried about how I can prove that God didn't make a mistake when He chose me, and it's not healthy.

Worried that I might make a misstep or forfeit an opportunity, I have prayed hard and fasted carefully, but, sis, I'm here to tell you that we are too fearful. We are too worried that we'll mess up the unique opportunity that God has given us to serve Him, and that fear is tearing away at our confidence.

When we begin to worry about what God is doing in our lives, we grow dependent upon our personality, gifts, and resources, and that's not how it's supposed to be. God's word tells us that His thoughts are so much higher than ours. So how do we attain His thoughts? (Isa. 55:9, NIV)

We worship, remember our worth, and rest in His knowledge.

I believe Mary demonstrated how to do this in Mark 14:3-6, and we can find encouragement in this passage. When Mary chose to break open the alabaster jar and pour the oil over Jesus' feet, she showed us how to choose worship.

I can't imagine how many worries attempted to steal this moment from her before she even chose to act, but, thankfully, she decided to worship anyway. She worshipped by pouring her most expensive treasure on Jesus' feet, and I wonder—what would that mean for us?

How many accomplishments would we stop seeking? How many relationships would we stop fighting so hard to hold onto if we exchanged our worry for worship?

Mary's choice to worship shows us that she recognized where her worth came from. It wasn't found in her accomplishments or the approval of people. Her worth was found in Jesus, and it brought her an ability to rest in His presence.

When we choose to worship through worry, remember our worth in Christ Jesus, and rest in His knowledge about our future and His love for us, we can leave worry behind.

Get connected to a community of believers and begin to open up to them, because we'll need help remembering what's important. We'll need support as we seek to worship God, and we may even need to talk to a Christian counselor to remember our worth. However, when we choose community, we'll be able to stop worrying about the future and start resting in the present.

I have no clue if Mary worried about what might happen when she poured that oil over our Lord's feet or not, but it's safe to say that if she had, many of those worries actually came true. People talked about her and rebuked her. Worry always feels like it's keeping us from the worst possible outcome, but it's not until we break free from its grasp that we get to enjoy the best opportunities.

Scripture for meditation

Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:6-9, NIV

Discussion & journal prompts

What have you been worried about lately?
What opportunities are in your life that you are afraid to mess up?
When can you incorporate worship into this week?
Take a moment to pray over the areas of your life that you tend to worry about and ask God to bring direction and truth in.

Share your thoughts on this devotion and discussion questions or request prayer in the Dawn app, located in Resources > Community.