Every year I join the ranks of the ”resolutioners,” the thousands of people who vow to lose weight, take better care of themselves, spend more time with family. And I always hear folks say they want to worry less. That’s my one focus for the New Year.
Worry is a tough resolution to tackle. Perhaps it’s the time of life when my body doesn’t cooperate like it used to. Aging is making me feel less on my game, so I worry more. Maybe living longer has caused me to see plenty more to worry about. Then there is to truth that after over half a century, the worry habit is pretty deeply entrenched. Whatever the cause, I want to end 2019 as less of a worry-wart than I started. I’ve made strides over the years, but I’d love to be one of those folks who take life in stride—whose trust in God is so strong, they have no place for wasted worry in their lives.
I’ve read enough to know that worry is a sin. It’s not affirming that God is taking care of things and that we need to trust Him to do that. Author, Sarah Young says that it denies His sovereignty. If I think about it long enough, I have to agree.
One thing is for sure, I can’t tackle worrying less on my own. This requires a Higher Power. So I’ll ask for the Lord’s help every day.
Check this out: I had this awareness as I was prepping a talk for a retreat and looking at the words on the page. Take the letters HE out of whine and you get win. Take the HE out of shine and you get sin. In both cases, HE-Jesus-makes the difference. So I have a choice every day. I can whine or I can win; I can shine or I can sin. With Christ’s help I can embrace the latter for each. I hope this life lesson helps you too!
May you have a shining, winning New Year!