As our tall trumpeting daffodils give way to lions’ teeth (dandelions), the challenge for gardeners is to root out rising weeds to clear room for plants, flowers and foliage to beautify our gardens and parks.

It’s a constant challenge to keep on top of worry weeds in our life, to root them out and prevent them wrecking our waking moments and robbing us of rest and renewal in sleep. 

Some of us are more prone to worry than others, but succumbing to anxiety’s seeds, watered and fed by our imagination, is unhelpful and unnecessary.

Max Lucado writes: “Worrying is not a disease, but it causes diseases. It has been connected to high blood pressure, heart trouble, blindness, migraine headaches, thyroid malfunctions and a host of stomach disorders.”

Enough to put you off worrying, eh? 

The Bible is consistent in its command ‘not to worry’. Easier said than done, I know, but ‘worry’ is irreverent, irrelevant and irresponsible. Worrying mistrusts God and denies God is in charge. It's literally a ‘raspberry’ in God’s face!

Worry cons us into thinking it can change things for the better. It’s irrelevant. It can’t and won’t! It is not a right ‘response’ to the truths that we are God’s beloved, and He wants the best for us. Worrying misspends our energies and time.

Here’s Jesus’ advice: "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers, most of which are never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

"What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.

"Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. 

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” (Matthew 6:30-34/MSG)

The 23rd Psalm shows, it’s all about letting God take the ‘lead’ in daily living, “…he leads me beside still waters…”

Disciplines of: Sabbath (stopping work to worship and rest in God’s goodness, relinquishing control to let God be boss), sleep (starting each day by submitting our soul to slumber in God’s care), and silence (quiet time listening to God’s word and praying). 

There are three God-given helps to weed worry, and carve out the necessary time:  ‘Cast all our cares on God’ (1 Peter 5:7); ‘Consider’ how much God cares for us; and ‘count’ our many blessings. 

We all have concerns pressing in on us. Jesus is clear, we cannot add an inch to our height, hour to our day, or change to our life by worrying. As the hymn tells us: “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear; all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

What’s your response in the face of anxiety: fight, flight or freeze?

The better choice is: fight, flight or insight?

The trump truth to play, when processing worry, is ‘God loves you deeply and dearly!’. A weed is a plant in the wrong place and belongs in our brown bin. Likewise, if worry is in your head or heart, it needs rooted out and cast into God’s hands.

The well planted peace and purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all!