Worry or Worship? It's a Choice

I hate to wait. Doesn’t everyone?

Additionally, I am that person who, after perusing a menu a dozen times—making others wait—says to the server, “Take their orders first.” However, once my choice is made, it better come quick. You see, my chronic indecisiveness exacerbates my impatience. Once I settle on a matter, I want it now. Incidentally, I suspect indecisiveness is a family trait, but I haven’t quite decided.

So, what are you waiting for?

Are you a teacher or student waiting for Christmas break? Are you a parent waiting for a child to come home? I have a friend waiting for a job, another praying for a child, and still another waiting for a diagnosis. I know others waiting for a deployment to end. The wait can be agonizing.

What Do We Do While Waiting?

There’s a little song I made up for my students which asks “What can we do when we’re waiting? Let’s sing a song or count along.”

We all know that action taken while waiting helps the wait feel faster. Thus, advent calendars were invented: sticker calendars, red and green paperchains, anything to keep the littles busy in the wait.

Personally, I prefer the chocolate variety. It pairs nicely with my typical wait activity, worry.

See waiting allows our minds to wander and wonder. If I let my mind stray, I easily imagine the worst possible outcome. I wonder about the future. I wish for trials to pass and worry about the next disaster. But oh, the energy required for all that worrying, wondering, and worse-case-scenario-thinking. I’m exhausted even writing about it.

If not Worry, Then What?

What’s our alternative? We do need to do something while we wait, right? Even the Bible makes that proposal in Philippians 4:6:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Let’s unpack this. First, don’t be anxious.

Yeah, easier said than done, I know.

God knows too, that’s why He immediately provides alternatives for our worrying: prayer and petitions. In other words, instead of worrying, we bring all our concerns and requests to God, listing them one by one.

Next, offer those prayers with thanksgiving. That is, thank Him in advance, knowing that He hears us and trusting in His answer. In this way, we exercise our faith that God will handle our cares and concerns in the best way, His way.

Hebrews 11:1 reminds us, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

With faith, we thank God for His answers to our prayers, even before we see the evidence. We lay our concerns before the Father, then worship Him for answering in His timing.

Yikes. Maybe it is easier to worry. Why pray? Why thank God before He does anything? Why include Him at all when we can worry by ourselves and not involve God? The next verse in Philippians clues us in:

“Then the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (v.7)

When we take our concerns to God, He trades our worry for His peace, a peace which doesn’t make sense given our present circumstances. A peace that surpasses explanation.

That’s a pretty good exchange if you ask me.

He also protects our wandering and wondering hearts and minds, keeping them focused on Him instead of our unmet needs.