Worry won't let you move on

God has a beautiful destination He wants you to reach. Worry cements you in guilt and shame, and that never comes from Jesus.

When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. (Psalm 94:19)

Uncertainty. It’s that place in your thought processes where you don’t know what to do. You aren’t sure which way is the right way. You vacillate between turning right or turning left.

Being indecisive is one of the most disconcerting feelings in life. At least, that’s my experience. I hate not knowing what to do. I hate feeling lost, like I lack direction or guidance. I hate having doubts. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth and makes you feel nauseated.

In those instances, where I’ve had to make a choice that I wasn’t confident about, it’s really easy to turn it over in my mind until the wee hours of the morning. When I don’t know what to do, I can lay awake for hours debating with myself on the best choice.

And if it turns out I made the wrong call? Well, cue the regrets. The only thing my brain likes to mull over more than what I potentially did wrong is what I know I did wrong.

Anxiety refuses to let you move on with your life. Worrying about what you did and how it went keeps you in a perpetual state of sorrow and mourning and guilt and shame, enabling you to keep bludgeoning yourself for your screw ups and failures.

If that’s you too, can you tell me what good that does? Does beating yourself up constantly undo your choice? Does it make the consequences you’ll inevitably face any less? Or are you just doing it because it “feels right” to punish yourself?

Something I’ve learned about God over the years: He is a God of forward momentum. God has given each of us a path to walk, a journey to take through life. He wants us to move forward. There are times when He asks us to be still, but that only happens when we need to get focused on Him again. But being still is different than being stuck.

Maybe you chose wrong. We all do. Apologize. Repent. Move on. Worry cements you in guilt and shame, and that never comes from Jesus.

God has a beautiful destination He wants you to reach. Don’t let worry and anxiety stop you from getting there.

Questions for Reflection

• Where do you think worry and anxiety get their strength and power in your life?

• When was a time you saw something good come out of your anxiety?

• How do you feel about the idea that God wants you to move forward?

Weekly Memory Verse

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