“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” — Matthew 6:34

Fear is a natural response to danger. Your body senses a threat and prepares to act. In that sense, fear can actually be a gift.

But worry is different. Worry is fear stretched out over time. It is the mind trying to direct an imagined future it cannot control. And the strange thing is that the more we tell ourselves, “Stop worrying,” the more power the worry often gains.

So instead of hiding your worries, bring them into the light.

Name them.
Write them down.
Examine them honestly.
Share them with someone you trust.
Pray through them specifically.

Unspoken fears tend to grow in the dark. But once spoken aloud, they often lose some of their power.

Edward Welch in Running Scared writes, “Worriers are visionaries minus the optimism.” 

That is insightful because worry is really imagination pointed in the wrong direction. It is rehearsing futures without God in them.

Allow God to enter into your worries and to what troubles your soul. Because, Jesus does not promise that tomorrow will be trouble-free. In fact, He says the opposite. “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” But He also reminds us that God’s grace comes one day at a time. He gives us daily bread, not stockpiles. “Your future includes manna. It will come,” Welch also writes.  

So what are you worried about? (Seriously, write it down).

Then ask yourself: “Am I imagining a tomorrow without the presence of God already there?”