Daily Devotional

When people find out that Jenn and I are from Chicago they love to ask us, “What are some words or phrases people use in California that you don’t hear in Chicago?” A number of phrases come to mind like “I’m getting a bad vibe”, “Lean into it”, and “Right on”.

But one phrase I hear more than any other is, “No worries.”  Someone says “Thanks”, and you respond “No worries”. Someone apologizes and you respond “No worries”. Someone admits they forgot to do something, “No worries.”

I am a worrier, just ask my wife Jenn. When it comes to marriage, ‘opposites attract’, and when I met Jenn, one of the things I noticed about her is that she doesn’t worry. That was attractive to me because I struggle with worry. She brings balance to my life in that area. I worry about finances, I worry about illnesses, I worry about safety for our kids, and the list goes on and on. Just the other day I expressed my worry about something petty and Jenn called me a “Debbie Downer”. She said, “Do you sit around trying to come up with things to worry about?” I said, “I don’t think so, I just struggle with worry.”

Psalm 27:1 says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?” (NASB)

Over the years one thing I’ve learned to do when I’m worried is to turn to the Lord; to have confidence that He is in control. Believing the promises in His Word, that He is supplying needs, He is protecting my family, that He will heal our diseases. Another thing I’ve learned to do is to look back and see God’s faithfulness; thinking about things I worried a lot about in the moment, but God worked it out for His good.

In order to trust God, I’ve learned that I have to be close to Him. Think about it, the people in your life you trust the most are those you’re closest to. You’ve shared struggles with them and they’ve given you good advice and prayed for you. Well it’s the same in our relationship with God. We pray to Him, crying out to Him in the midst of our worry, and there’s a closeness that comes. We also spend time meditating on His Word, learning who He is and what He has promised us, and then we can claim those promises in the midst of our worry.

"Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NASB)

This verse has helped me a lot with worry. When I meditate on this verse I picture a heavy load across my shoulders. And I take that ‘load’ and physically go through the motions of lifting it off my shoulders and casting it heavenward. As I do that, I pray, Lord this is my anxiety for today, and I name it specifically. And after I do that I feel like a ‘weight’ has been lifted off my soul.

What’s funny is, sometimes I’m surprised, like I didn’t really believe God meant it when He told me He cares enough about my anxieties to bear the load for me.

What are you worried about today? “No worries”. The Lord is your light, salvation, and defense. What anxieties are you carrying today? Cast those anxieties heavenward, and then leave them there. God cares for you.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation