When Worry Steals Your Joy

My husband, Steve, and I sat anxiously in our seats. I wondered if I was going to be able to endure the ride, especially knowing my propensity for motion sickness. But we began nonetheless.

The guide strapped all passengers into the tiny boats and gave last minute instructions. Of course there were life preservers, but what good would they do in the fierce rapids that threatened to suck its prey below the surface?

The crew boarded and began the journey down the mysterious Amazon. The calm meandering waters quickly gave way to fierce torrents, rushing rapids, and rocky crags protruding from the foaming waters. Alternating between plunging into the water and flying into the air, the boat made its way through the first set of rapids. My body relaxed, thankful that was over. Several times along the journey calm gave way to chaos as passengers maneuvered to keep the boats afloat. Often, I closed my eyes and waited for the turbulence to pass.

When we finally reached the end of our journey, I picked up my popcorn and walked out of the theater.

No, I wasn’t really on the Amazon River strapped in a tiny boat. I was comfortably sitting in a cushioned chair in the IMAX Theater watching a documentary about the Amazon River. In the five-story domed screen covering 6532 square feet of projection surface, large images put you in the center of the action, and the surround sound gave the illusion that you were indeed wherever the screen took you. It wasn’t real.

The Bible tells us, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34 NIV). Someone once said, “worry is a down payment on a problem you may never have.” It is expending emotional energy on something that may never happen. It is thinking on something that is not real.

Yes, I did get a bit queasy from the larger-than-life movement down the river, but I was never in real danger. Even though the producers and engineer tried their best to create a realistic experience, I knew it wasn’t true. It was a movie. I would walk out unscathed.

That is the peace of walking, or in this case sitting, in the truth. Every day the enemy seeks to trip us up by stirring up worry about the future. It’s not real. It’s imaginings. Something that most likely will never happen.

Worrying is like sitting in the IMAX Theater watching a documentary about the Amazon River, but thinking you’re really in the boat. You’re not. It is your imagination running wild.

So what do you do?

Stop looking at the screen…the imaginings in your mind.

Leave the theater…the cinema where the worriers in you heart loop round and round.

Don’t let worry weaken your soul, but let prayer strengthen your heart.

Trust in God…the only One who knows what the future holds.

Turn your worries into prayers. That doesn’t mean worrying out loud to God. It means handing your concerns over to Him and letting it go.

Lord, sometimes I make myself so mad. Mad as in angry and mad as in crazy. I worry about things that I have no control over, most of which will never happen in the first place. Today, I’m getting out of the imaginary boat in the imaginary Amazon River of worry. I’m going to trust in You and refuse to buy another ticket to the theater that plays reruns of my greatest fears. In Jesus’ Name, Amen and Amen!

Are you willing to turn your worries into prayers? If so, leave a comment and say, “I’m going to give my worries about _______ to God!”

Bonus Study

Read Matthew 6:25-24 to see what Jesus said about worry.

Think about five things you worried about in 2024.

What good did the worrying do? What did it change?

How much of what you worried about happening actually happened?

Digging Deeper

Trust God isn’t always easy. That’s why Gwen Smith, Mary Southerland and I wrote a book about it: Trusting God. We’ve share honestly and openly about our own struggles, and how trusting God in the midst of difficult situations has strengthen our faith. This book is set up in a 12-week devotional style with a Bible study guide and journal pages.

Did you know I have The Praying Wives Club over on Facebook? Come by for a visit for a prayer each day!

And just added July 1 is The Praying Moms Club for moms and grandmoms (grandmas, gigis, mimis)!