What good are you?
What do you offer?
How do you help?
I have carried you far and wide.
The thing about you is that sometimes you are small and my bag is light. In this case, you allow for other things to fit – like joy, peace and rest. Other times, however, you are so big, there is no room for any of that. There is just room for a self-focus – a self focus that deters me from the reality of truth.
I hate it when you take up all the room.
The zippers don’t close and you tend to squeeze right out the sides of my life.
I want to hide you, contain you within, but you always come out.
Maybe that is what bothers me the most.
I’m tired.
You weigh me down.
You consistently focus me – on me.
Worry, you have to go.
I want to leave you behind. I want to go to baggage claim and never claim you again.
Because you are like a carousel –
round and round go the thoughts in my mind, but I never get anywhere.You are like a leech.
You suck joy, peace and the power of presence right out of my life.You are like an old lady crossing a busy 3-lane highway.
When you walk in, I can’t see anything else but you in my life.
But, most of all, you are who you are, a loaded, weighted, burdensome, inconvenient bag stuffed with entirely no use.
How have you tricked me so often?
I must falsely believe inside that you serve some purpose.
You don’t change anything.
You distract me from God.
You dwell my heart on fear.
You condition me to live based on “what if’s”.
You fight my sleep.
You steal moments with my kids.
You leave me inactive.
Who knows what you do to my health? I have heard it isn’t good.
I am done.
I hope you feel the swift kick to the curb I offer you today.
I know it won’t be easy, but I have a plan of action so that you don’t show up on my doorstep again.
1. When the winds of worry waken my fears, I am going to start wondering about what I wonder about.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. (Phil. 4:8)
I am going to be thinking about what I am thinking about. I am going to be evaluating what I am watching. I am going to be considering what I am believing. If it doesn’t line up with Jesus Christ and his gospel of grace, the truth that he is always with us and his promise that he will give us all we need – I am kicking these fears out the door too.
2. I am going to choose to be thanks-filled about the trial-filled moments.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Phil. 4:6)
Will this be hard? Indeed. Worth it? You bet. Underneath it all, I know this is the antidote to worry.
How can we worry and be truly thankful at the same time?
Thankfulness focuses our mind on all we have,
while worry focuses our mind on all we hypothetically may not have.
These two enemies cannot co-exist.
3. I am going to remember that worry doesn’t rule me, Christ does.
Thanks be to you Lord Jesus; you have all authority. You rule on high. No one can take you down. No situation can overcome you. You are the definition of power, the force of love and the fixer of all things. I don’t have to take the world on my shoulders because you took the cross on yours.
I bow down.
I humble myself and let go of prideful worry that fools me into thinking that I can actually do something to change my situation. Again, Lord, it is all about you.
God is so much more effective than this bag of tricks I have ineffectively relied on for so long.
So, today, I take that ugly, frustrating bag of worry and let go. What a relief it is! I can almost see my steps quicken, my arms pump a little faster, and my step lighten a tad. I feel free. I feel connected in love.
Does this mean that bad things won’t happen to me? Or that worst case scenarios may never come true? No.
But this does mean that I know deep, deep, down in my heart that my troubles are momentary and that my trials will pass and that I serve a God greater than these things. In this – I can choose to let go of this bag with imprints of my hand so deeply marked on its handles. This bag that I have clutched so tightly.
You don’t serve me. You don’t rule me.
I can release my grip and wave goodbye.
Bag, you are no longer my load to carry.
Today I am delighted to join Suzie Eller’s #LifeFreeThursday.
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Hi Kelly, I am linking up beside you and so happy about that! There are so many powerful truths in this. I don’t want to let worry steal another moment from me. Thank you for encouraging me with God’s truth today!
Kasey, I am delighted that you enjoyed these words. Worry is a horrible companion. I am so glad you are joining me in saying goodbye. I am praying this over you and me right now.
Kelly, just what I needed to read this morning. I am worrying constantly about retirement and finances. Not my hubby, just me. God’s got it, I hope and pray! I need to let it go! Maybe, YES LET GO!
Thank you for your blog and I look forward to getting to know you in the future. It is so good to share ideas with others.
Yes, join me Nancy, let’s kick it out. It has no place in our lives, it serves no purpose. I am so tired of it, aren’t you? The Lord will help us as we pray and seek his help. Thank you for your honesty. I am right behind you cheering you on.
Wonderful inspiration!!! It has definitely rob me of too many moments in life. I am praying for the courage to join you in kicking worry to the curb. Thank you fir sharing Kelly.
Let’s kick it on out Lisa! I am so glad it spoke to you. I feel so blessed to be able to share this trial, so we can all grow. Have a blessed and Christ-filled day.
Good grief. What a powerful word to hold tight this morning and call it TRUTH! Loved this, Kelly. Absolutely loved it. It can preach.
Thanks Suzie! I am delighted you loved it. It is an honor to be a vessel of His truth! Much love to you sister.
Powerful reminder! Thanks for your encouraging words! “Worry doesn’t rule me. Christ does!” Amen to that!
Thank you so much Meggie for commenting. I am tired of worry trying to overtake me. It’s exciting to kick it out. Come back and visit me again. Be sure to visit for the #RaRalinkup on Tuesday’s.
I either don’t worry at all or worry things in circles. I try not to worry about things that I cannot change, but the things that I can change? I worry about those. Thank you for the encouragement to set worry aside and focus on what truly matters.
That is great that you try not to worry about what you can’t change. It is a hard thing to do so I really cheer you on for that. You must have so much peace as a result.
“Bag, you are no longer my load to carry.” Amen to that, sister!
I am done with this darn bag of no good, rotten fears. Letting it go Dawn. Thanks for joining me in the celebration.
I love this! What a perfect day to dump the trash! Praying for you and your walk with God!
hank you. I so covet your prayers, so this is greatly appreciated. I am praying for you right now too Marisa.
Yes, let’s wave good-bye to worry! Such good truth-filled words!! xoxo
OK, waving… 😉 Thank you Beth! Thanks for reading it and sharing your thoughts!
Such a powerful illustration of worry being like a carousel…it goes round and round. I don’t want to claim it! Thank you for bringing truth and light to me today Kelly! #LiveFreeThursday 🙂
I am so tired of the ride Sarah. It came bring me round and round again – last night. I was thinking, “No, not on the day I just did a blog post about this issue!” ha! I had to practice what I preached.
Oh Kelly, “I want to go to baggage claim and never claim you again” THAT IS AWESOME! Loved your post today. Have a great weekend! Kim kimstewartinspired.com #livefree
Thanks Kim! I am so glad it spoke to you. You too, have such a blessed weekend. I can’t wait to read some inspiring words from you dear friend!
Amen! Kick worry to the curb and retrain your mind–may God be with you on your journey. He’s got you covered and he has your back. Not only that, he walks before you and beside you. The powers of evil cannot prevail against him.
Yes, let’s let it go Anita. God is so with us. What peace that is. Thank you for encouraging me in this. I loved having you over today.
Such vivid imagery here, Kelly! I love your description of worry and the thought of kicking it to the curb and focusing instead on the cross on Jesus’ shoulders. Thank you for this inspiration today.
Thank you Trudy. I am glad you enjoyed it. It feels so good to be free, doesn’t it? Have a super amazing weekend!
What a great post, Kelly. Worry is something that most everyone allows to creep into their hearts and lives. I just love the way you spoke truth to worry. If only we would keep our eyes on Jesus, our worry would grow very dim. Bless you, friend. Have a wonderful weekend.
Yes Leah. I so want that. I so want worry to grow more and more dim. Thank you for joining me here today. I am so encouraged by you. I hope you have a great weekend!
One of my greatest sins is the sin of worry. So often I forget how far God has brought me and all the work He is doing in me. I try to take back the control I’ve relinquished to Him a thousand different times. I lose my heart of gratitude. Thank you so much for encouraging me with this post. Moving forward, “I am going to choose to be thanks-filled about the trial-filled moments.”
God Bless,
Tina
Yes, I know. It is an easy sin – an undetected one. Sometimes, those are the ones that are the most difficult to root out. I am praying for you and me right now. That God releases us from this. Thanks Tina for your honest comment!