Turn Worry into Worship

     

Our wonderful Savior did not set us free to have us be consumed with worry especially because worry leads to stress. Stress can make us sick both in our soul and physically. I’m not going to dwell on how sick it can make us because we just need to learn not to worry before it turns into such stress that it makes us sick. I want to look at what Jesus said to us about worrying.

      Jesus told us not to worry, He knew we would be tempted to worry but He doesn’t want us to give into it. “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life…” Matthew 6:25 (NKJV), and “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6:27 (NLT), this is the teaching Jesus gives us about worrying, He is telling us not to worry from verses 25-34 in chapter 6 of Matthew. This is not a quick little reminder and He isn’t saying to us “Hey if you’re having an exceptionally good day and things are going your way try not to worry”, no Jesus is commanding us not to worry and if we realize that to worry is actually considered sin we would really learn how to stop doing it.

   

      If you are addicted to worrying like I was then you will want to learn how to stop worrying and start worshiping instead because in the eyes of God worrying is sin and not faith and in His word it tells us in Romans 14:23 (AMP), “…For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin….” 

     Worrying is not a form of worship, but you can and should turn worry into worship.

     Worry, it is the sin of unfaithfulness which really does not believe in His faithfulness. God’s faithfulness never fails! The reason Jesus tells us not to worry is because if we are busy worrying then we cannot be busy praising, worshiping and trusting in the faithfulness of our God. He is so faithful that it tells us in Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV) “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” Also, the following verses are a perfect reference for what we are about to discover and they are found in Psalm 71:22-23 (NLT), “Then I will praise You with music on the harp, because You are faithful to Your promises, O my God. I will sing praises to You with a lyre, O Holy One of Israel. I will shout for joy and sing Your praises, for You have ransomed me.” These are just a couple of verses but God’s word is full of references to praise and worship. It is how we obtain and sustain a life in Him. It is a very vital part of our walk and relationship with Him and He wants us to do it sincerely and regularly. And God certainly wants us to worship instead of worry, to trust in Him and His answers instead of trust in the world and or live in torment by the enemy which is what can happen if we don’t learn to give our worry up for worship to God.

      Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV), “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” So you see we cannot please God without faith and He wants us to diligently seek Him and some of the ways we do that are to praise and worship Him. Our everyday walk with God is to be a constant giving up of our heart to Him in the form of worship and that can and should include prayer—if the Lord is new to you, praying means talking from your heart through your spirit to God, or talking to God with your heart. We should also include singing unto the Lord a new song, playing music to the Lord, dancing with joy before Him and many other things—even our obedience is a form of worship if what we are being obedient to is done with a loving heart and willing attitude, also our tithe and other offerings are supposed to be given as worship to Him. If we truly love Him and understand just how lost we were without Him then we want our life to reflect that. God’s word says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NLT), “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Everything we do should be a form of some kind of worship to Him who deserves all our praise, prayer, worship, honor and complete surrender.

    

      The sad thing is that most people (Christians) are more comfortable with such forms of worship as giving of their material and temporal possessions and although sometimes God will require us to give up something tangible to or for His sake, most of the time what He really wants is us. He wants you in complete abandon to Him and you can only do that by giving yourself completely to Him, that means no holding back when you are worshiping Him, no wondering or even “worrying” what others will think because you need only care what God Almighty thinks and if you are in complete surrender to Him in worship I guarantee He thinks it is great and He wants you to keep doing it, every day and all the time.

      Make worship and praise something you do every day and do it with all of your heart and your walk with God will change for the better. You and Jesus will get to know each other in a very intimate and close way and you will learn that He is the one to trust in troubles and worrisome times. 

     

 Praise and worship is an absolute perfect way to stop worrying, and if you learn how to have regular praise and worship with and to our Lord Jesus you can virtually eliminate worry not only from your vocabulary but your life as well. Seriously, because after all, He is worthy of our praise and worship and it is what He wants from us. Exchange your worry for worship and discover a new freedom, one without worry and stress. And here is another wonderful thing about God, serving Him and worshiping Him are one in the same—when you serve you do it unto Him and when you worship Him, He knows you have a heart to serve.

      I find it easier to just let loose and worship God when I remember, it is what we will be doing in heaven for all of eternity so I want to not only get comfortable worshiping and honoring Jesus from earth but I want to do it with everything that’s in me. Yes, think about that, in heaven we will be praising and worshiping Jesus our Lord and Savior forever and always!

      Until we get there we must learn from this side of heaven and we can always learn from our perfect example, Jesus. I think if anyone would have had the right to worry it would have been Jesus as He knew in advance the kind of burden He would have to carry for us and yet He did not worry and He instructed us not to worry either.

     Let’s take a look at a couple of verses which tell us that during what would have been a time in Jesus’ life He would have wanted to give into worry He did not, but instead He sought the Father and His kingdom. I’m sure when Jesus was in the garden asking (praying) if there was any way that He might not have to be crucified He was probably tempted to give into worry but He didn’t. I believe He was praying instead (in-place) of worrying and even though He was so distressed that He began to sweat drops of blood yet He still did not give into that distress, He looked to the Father for His strength, His help, His hope and we see that the Father sent help for Him, it tells us in  Luke 22:41-44 (NLT), “And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will but Your’s be done.’ Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” No matter how much agony we might be in during a trial or troubles the previous verses tell us we can turn to the Father for help and He will give us what we need.

      When I stated that I used to be addicted to worrying maybe you were thinking that seems a little “out there” but, remember, we can literally become addicted to anything. Worrying was just part of the ritual of compulsive behavior I would engage in when the stress of life hit me even though I had Jesus, for a long time I still thought that, yes you pray and give it to God, but I also believed that if I didn’t spend a certain amount of time worrying then I wasn’t doing what was my part to do. I was wrong and I finally started to understand that Jesus doesn’t want us to worry and He also tells us what we can do instead of worrying. We can learn how to seek Him instead of worrying because if what we are doing about issues or needs in our life are anything but going to God with it, casting it upon Him, and then seeking His kingdom it is not what God wants us to do.

       Be set free from the bondage of worry and put on a “new thing” of praise and worship and when you do God will show Himself to you as He never has before.

      You can’t be in the middle of full surrender worship to God and be in a state of worry at the same time, it just isn’t possible! You must be doing one of those things or the other but you CAN’T do both. Choose worship to your Savior instead of worry and you will not regret it. He tells us in Matthew 6:33 (NLT) to “Seek the kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”

     Jesus wants us to seek Him in prayer and worship and especially instead of worrying. When we worry the devil knows that what we are worrying about is a weak area for us but so does our Lord and Wonderful Helper, our Prince of Peace and Jesus wants us to trust in Him and look up to Him and heaven and not trust in the things of this world.

      Jesus wants you to use the energy and effort that you would spend worrying to praise Him, seek Him, and trust in Him—and if you truly release your spirit up to Him and give into worship I promise you there is NOTHING on this planet that could ever cause you to worry. You do have to completely surrender to Jesus your Savior, the One who gave His life for you but what would you rather surrender to—the worries of this world or worship and heaven?

     The way to have real intimacy with our God is to give yourself up to worship and fellowship and let the Holy Spirit lead you into a new dimension with Jesus and you will never be the same, and the best part, the more you do it the better it gets and the more effective it becomes. Yes, do it faithfully and watch yourself be transformed into a “worshiper of God” not just one who serves Him but who knows and worships Him in spirit and truth.

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