I Was Just Trusting That….

Matthew 6:25  

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?"

I have been reading Joyce Meyer’s book, Battlefield of the Mind.  As I ate dinner tonight, I read the section on anxiety and worry.  It came as no surprise that anxiety and worry are ways the enemy has us squander thought time that could be put to kingdom-centered thinking.  I am quite a worrier.  I’ve read the Bible verses and I do believe that trusting God is the answer to worry, but still, I have to admit that a large percentage of my thought life is in the service of worry. 

Now, if you ever want to get rid of a bad habit, I suggest you do what I do:  tell 25 fourth graders about it.  Last Spring, I was convicted about how much I worry and I recognized how even the word “worry” is prevalent in our daily speaking terms.

“Oh, we’ll worry about that later,” I’d say about a project that the kids hadn’t finished.

“I was just worrying that something had happened to you!” I’d remark with concern over a student who didn’t return on time from recess.

“I’m worried that it might rain on our field trip.  Let’s bring jackets, okay?” Sounds like a responsible teacher, right?  No!  It’s an anxious teacher who isn’t thinking about the power of her words!

During a class meeting, I told my crew of fourth graders that I believed we don’t have any reason to worry and that I was trying to get that word out of my vocabulary.  They were totally on board with this.

I’d start to say, “Oh, we’ll worry about that later…” only to get eager hands raised and calling out, “No we won’t!  We won’t worry about it at all!”

Beginning a sentence with, “Class, I’m worried that…”  would receive a chorus of “Aaaaah!  You said it!  Take it back!!”

Tonight, as I sit here on the eve of a fresh school year with verses and Joyce Meyer’s bold words in my mind, I wonder, what would it sound like for this new class to not learn the language of worry from me at all?  What do I say instead?

The reason I can refuse worry is because I choose to trust God.  It may sound funny at first, but what if I started declaring my trust in places where I used to express worry?

Johnny is late from recess….  “Hi Johnny!  I was just trusting that you were safe and well cared for.  Have a seat!”

The Science project looks like it might be messy…. “I am confident that we will figure out a solution if this ends up exploding.  It might be smart to have paper towels ready.  It’s going to be a learning experience no matter what, right kids?”

By the grace of God and the power of His Holy Spirit, I believe that this class will learn the language of trust!