Dani Rotramel PAR
T II – WORRY IS A HABIT
Worry is a habit. Most of us have been trained very well to worry. To break this habit, it is going to require new thinking (out of the box thinking.) It is not “noble” to worry.
Other than the detriments mentioned in part one of this series on Worry, are there other reasons not to worry?
Had you ever thought about the fact that God gives us a command to not worry. Yes, He does. And if tells us to do such a thing, it must be possible.
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-9(NLT)
Look at the Promise 
If we follow his command and train ourselves not to worry, look at the promise the Master gives:
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
Worry Doesn’t Work Anyway
Worry doesn’t work. I doubt that any of us ever received anything good because we worried about it long enough. Worry actually steals the answers to our prayers as it is the opposite of faith. It chokes the Word out of our heart. Worry makes the situation worse.
19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. Mark 4:19(NLT)
Practical Things that Can Cause Worry
- Junk food (especially sugar as it causes blood sugar swings)
- Lack of Exercise (the “feel good neurotransmitters) ae released when we exercise
- Lack of Sleep
- Too many commitments
- Lack of Planning
A great idea is to start with the list above. Once you know your enemy, it is easier to stop your enemy. Learn who your food culprits are, and get them out of your environment. They aren’t worth the damage they do. Once you eat just a little of these villains, they begin to call for more and more and more.
Sleep
I have read that our sleep each minute before midnight is worth four times what that same sleep is after midnight. A great goal is to get to bed by 10:30 curfew on most nights with plans to be up early enough the next day to read the Word and plan the day.
Stress Survival
Chronic stress produces cortisol in our body. Cortisol has the reputation of putting on weight around the mid section. Cortisol is the neurotransmitter responsible for the fight or flight feelings. Too much for too long can begin to destroy neurons in the brain. Neuroscientists are beginning to think that cortisol is the number one culprit for aging throughout the body.
Stress, Worry and Fear
These culprits travel together. If we can begin to overcome the habit of worry, we will also begin to overcome stress and fear.
