The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Getting Rid of Worry" for Friday, 23 January 2015 - Scripture: Luke 8:4-15

The Upper Room Daily Devotional Nashville, Tennessee, United States “Getting Rid of Worry" for Friday, 23 January 2015 - Scripture: Luke 8: A Story about a Farmer
4 When a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus, he told them this story:
5 A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was doing it, some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds. 6 Other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing. But the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up. 7 Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. 8 The rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred times as many seeds.
When Jesus had finished speaking, he said, “If you have ears, pay attention!”
Why Jesus Used Stories
9 Jesus' disciples asked him what the story meant. 10 So he answered:
I have explained the secrets about God’s kingdom to you, but for others I can only use stories. These people look, but they don’t see, and they hear, but they don’t understand.
Jesus Explains the Story about a Farmer
11 This is what the story means: The seed is God’s message, 12 and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don’t have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.
14 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything. 15 Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest.
Blessed is the one . . . whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers.[Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV)]
The pink flowers in my garden brought joy to my heart. On the day I planted them, the petals and leaves consumed all the available space. But sometime later weeds began to appear, and I was too busy to address the problem. By the end of summer, the bed that once overflowed with colorful flowers was filled with weeds. If only I had maintained the garden and pulled each weed as it appeared, I would still have an abundance of flowers.
I’ve noticed that this same phenomenon occurs in my spiritual life. When I ignore the worries that invade my mind, they eventually choke my spiritual growth and the beauty and fragrance of Christ disappear from my life. Like the flowers, I do not mature.
As with weeds, the key is to act when each worry arrives on the scene. I can maintain the soil of my heart by meditating on scripture, since its truth is the best tool for weeding out worry. If I look up verses that speak to the issues that worry me and meditate on those passages, I can be prepared when worry invades my mind. The result will be a life that produces a good crop instead of an abundance of weeds.
Read more from the author, here.
"Learning To Trust"
It usually happens at night. When I lie down to rest, a sense of dread washes over me as the worries I’ve avoided all day roll into my soul like waves on the shore. My niece needs a kidney. A nephew is fighting an addiction. My friend lost his job, and I’m trying to juggle too many competing responsibilities. If I’m not careful to address the problem, I can easily spend a sleepless night tossing and turning as each worry saturates my mind and heart.
Over the years I’ve discovered a method that helps me move beyond worry into a deeper level of trust in God.  For me, the core issue is trust. I swim in the sea of worry when I focus on the impossible nature of the circumstances rather than on the possibilities available to my all-powerful God.
The method is based on 1 Peter 5:7, which tells me to cast all my worries on God because he cares for me, and Philippians 4:6-7, which promises me I will experience the peace of God if, instead of worrying, I will bring all my prayers and petitions to God in a spirit of thankfulness. Scripture is full of invitations to engage in prayer, but these two highlight the compassionate nature of God. Both remind me that God cares about all the details; nothing is too small or silly to bring to God.
So as I lie in bed, I capture each worry and carry it to God. I imagine lifting it up and placing it in God’s hands. Then I imagine the smile on his face as he takes the worry from me. I believe God is delighted when we come to him for help, just like we are delighted when our children ask us to help them. The realization that the Creator of the universe cares about me and my loved ones fills my heart with gratitude.
Then I think about Bible verses that speak to each worry. For example: when I think about my niece and her health issues, I remember Matthew 6:25-32, which reminds me that God not only knows she needs clothes and food, he also knows she needs a kidney. When I worry about my nephew and his addiction, I think about Psalm 103:2-3, which reminds me God is able to heal all our diseases. When I worry about my friend wandering in the land of unemployment, I think about God’s habit of going before his people and his promise to never leave or forsake them (Deut. 31:6, 8). And when I’m overwhelmed by everything I’m responsible to do, Philippians 4:13 reminds me that I can do all things when I rely on Christ to strengthen me.
It’s taken me years to form a habit of running to God with my worries. And sometimes I still cling to them and worry the night away. But as I’ve learned to take each worry to God when it rolls into my mind, I’ve experienced the peace God promises. It’s a peace that defies explanation. One that leads me into a gentle sleep and ushers me into a morning filled with new mercies from God.[Lynn Karidis]
The Author: Lynn Karidis (Michigan, USA)
Thought for the Day: God’s word can help us overcome worry.
Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for providing a way to cope with worry. Help us to apply your word daily so you can produce abundant fruit in our lives. Amen.
Prayer focus: Gardeners
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