What is God about to do?: Wonder as an antidote to worry
What do you do with your worries?
If you're human, you have them, so there's no shame in this conversation. But where do they go? Do they bounce around your grey matter for weeks, causing anxiety, stirring your imagination, and disrupting your sleep? Do they get processed or stuffed?
Worry is, on some level, about curiosity. Your creative mind wants to solve the problems of your life and figure out how it will manage future events. But as all know, this easily spirals into worry and anxiety and unhealthy thought processes.
Consider a toddler trying a food for the first time - studying it, smelling it, placing an indent with chubby finger, and then finally, a small taste. What if we told this same toddler that this food was scary, that maybe it had bugs in it and could harm him? How would the toddler respond? I would guess with a toss over the side of the high chair.
Healthy curiosity over an unknown thing can easily be turned to an unhealthy fear by faulty beliefs.
Now consider a difficult problem in your life or an upcoming event, something that might cause you to ruminate in your mind over it and feel fear about what's happening or what might happen.
What if you saw this problem or future event as an opportunity for discovery and for solution at the hands of God your Father?
When worried thoughts come up to our minds, we subconciously give them a ranking. Maybe they appear to be small and we shoo them away like a gnat. Or they seem significant and intractible, and we feel small in their presence. Frankly, many things we face are actually impossible for us in the moment. They require time, or perseverance, or a miracle. But they are never impossible to God. They are not even grandiose to Him. They are fully seen and understood, and He knows their eventual conclusion.
Worry is a normal part of the human experience but we get to decide what to do with it.
Once the worry comes to mind, this is my choice: I can begin down the path of endless fearful thoughts about it and surrender to my sense of smallness. My faulty beliefs or lack of faith can turn this obstacle into a monster that causes me great worry.
Or I can turn that worry into a wonder.
My adjusted thought process that submits to God's authority and kindness toward me might look something like this...
I know God is involved. I wonder what my good, magnificent God is going to do about this problem?
I know God will come through. I wonder what his provision will look like?
I know He loves me. I wonder how He will take care of me in the process?
I know He is able. I wonder what miracles He has in store?
This is my practice to overcome worry. It doesn't change the situation in the moment, but it changes my mind in the moment. It settles my heart rate. It allows me to breathe in deeply the love of God. It reminds my heart how He is providing for me.
Scripture for meditation
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
Prompts for reflection and journaling
What situation, event, or person tends to bring worried thoughts to your mind? What usually happens to those worries? How do they make you feel?
Consider the top 1 or 2 situations that you worry about. Turn each one into a wonder statement that feels positive and expectant of God's goodness coming through for you. I wonder...
And then meditate on these wonder statements throughout your week, and especially when those worries come to mind. In this way you are not only worshipping God as an act of your mind, but retraining your brain to trust Him more than you trust your fears.
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