Rachel was worried about her finances. Recently divorced, she was barely making payment on all her bills. Her hours at work had been cut, her savings was dwindling and money was tight. She was surviving, but couldn’t stop worrying about the future. All she could think about was, “What if…” It was getting so bad that her friends suggested she see a counselor.

How does Rachel stop worrying when she is so anxious about her future?

1) First, she has to let go of the idea that worry is useful. In talking with Rachel, she believed that worry was a way for her to take control of her life. In other words, Rachel felt like worrying was doing something. It was useful to her in some weird way. But Rachel had to let go of that idea because when we truly believe that worry has no place in our lives, this is the beginning of freedom.

2) Rachel had to engage her will. In Luke 21:14, Jesus urged the disciples to make up their minds not to worry. This indicates that we must make a choice not to worry, that we have to decide not to allow worry in to the moment. This involves looking at your thoughts and replacing worried thoughts with thoughts of hope and peace. Thoughts of hope and peace are rooted in faith.

3) Faith has to do with trusting God. Worry  is based on doubting God. In order to worry, we have to wonder if God is who He says He is. When trouble comes and we don’t understand, the temptation is to ascribe to God some negative motive like, He doesn’t care, He isn’t with me, or He caused the bad things to happen. Sometimes, we assign attribution to God that is not part of his character. When this happens, we doubt and worry creeps in.

If we are not familiar with who God is, it is hard to trust Him because we don’t know His character. For most people, this means reading their Bible to get a better understanding of who God is. Bible reading reminds us daily of God’s promises and who He is. Trust is based on knowing God and realizing that His promises are true. To let go of worry, you have to trust. Fill your mind with truth by daily reading Scripture.

For more help to let go of worry, get my book, Letting Go of Worry