John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Worship is the gate into the tabernacle of divine peace but worry is a doorway into torment. Worship soaks us in God’s omnipotence, power and might while worry sucks us into torture, terror and trepidation. “Fear and worry turn a trial into a torment” — Rick Hocker. When fear becomes a habitual response to a challenge then our brain starts to imagine unreal threats. Strong emotional and debilitating feelings could attach to the “imaginary fear” and torment us. 85% of what we worry about never happens. Jesus has given us the weaponry to overcome worry in His written mandate, ‘The Bible’.
The piece of armory to attack worry is “peace”. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News (Ephesians 6:15a). Shoes are an appropriate allegory for peace because worry traps us in the prison of pain. We use different footwear for different purposes. We don’t wear sports shoes with formal wear. Leather brogans are the recommended shoes for warfare. When worry floods our heart, we need to change our footwear from slip-ons to military boots. If not, the enemy will aim to hurt us where we are exposed. Worry is like a sore foot that restricts our movements and gets us stuck in the torment of fear. So, don’t let your enemy attack your agility. Put on the shoes of peace.
Three tips to overcome the torment of worry:
1. Reflect: When a qualm grips your heart, take a break from the rut of fear and reflect on the thought process. Then, take a pen and write down the thread of thoughts that are passing through your mind when you are sinking into the gutter of worry. Reflect over the penned thoughts and underline the words and phrases that do not conform to God’s promise. “I’m afraid I’ll lose my…” Rephrase the statement until it transforms your heart and drives out the apprehension.
2. Rethread: The sewing machine will weave two threads (upper and lower threads) together in order to create stitches in your material. The machine needs rethreading if the upper thread and a lower thread are not reaching and locking with each other which will result in a skipped stitch. Likewise, worry disconnects the heart and the mind. The heart believes that God is all-powerful but the mind bawls a different story. Rethread your heart-mind connection until it synchronizes with God’s promises. The process of rethreading the heart and mind turns the faith into unshakable trust.
3. Rewrite: Rewrite the panic statements into promise proclamations. Pen and paper leave transformational prints in the mind. Writing down reinforces our thoughts into our mind and memory. Imposition is considered a positive punishment to refocus the mind. So, rewrite the promise not your problem until it transforms the mind. Put on the shoes of peace until worry turns into worship.
“Be a warrior not a worrier”
Philippians 4:6a Do not be anxious about anything.
Prayer: Father God, help me to put on the shoes of peace and overrule worry with worship. Amen.
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