“That is why I tell you not to worry about your everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear…Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?…if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.” Matthew 25-30
As you’re reading this, I will have just returned from our church’s youth mission trip to Guatemala. As I’m writing it, I’m scheduled to leave on the trip in less than three days. It’s been such a whirlwind of a summer that I haven’t invested too much time into thinking about this trip, other than praying God uses it for His glory. I’ve also been to Central America many times before, so I have a pretty good idea about what to expect. This should be no big deal.
Well.
At the beginning of the week, as I contemplated my to-do list and the tasks I had to accomplish before leaving town, I got overwhelmed and started to worry over aspects of the trip that I hadn’t even thought about. What if a kid loses their passport? What if I get motion sick riding in a bus over terrible roads? (I’m pretty sure 97% of all roads in Central America are terrible. Winding, narrow, bumpy, nausea-inducing) I also had a project with a deadline that had to be completed before I could leave town, so of course I had the thought “What if I don’t get this done and am in breach of contract?” Before long, I was mentally spiraling with a mile-long inventory of stressful what-ifs.
I texted my aunt and prayer warrior who responded with sage advice. She said, “try not to borrow stress,” and listed several factors in my life—beginning with the youngest kid about to move to California—that are weighing on my heart and lending themselves to worries over the mission trip. She reminded me I am a child of God and told me to put all my cares into His hands.
It’s simple advice. I would’ve told my children the same thing if they’d come to me with their worries. But it’s so easy to forget, which makes us susceptible to the enemy’s tactics. If Satan can keep our minds occupied with imaginary disasters, he steals today’s peace and distracts us from the tasks God gives us. Satan works on us until we “borrow stress.” Sometimes we take it from other people, social media, or any number of recesses of our pasts.
Other times, we create imaginary scenarios and let ourselves go down dark rabbit holes. Except bad roads and the potential for car sickness. That’s real, and I’m having trouble letting go of that fear.
2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Since we know God gives us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline, rather than one of fear, any thought that turns us to worry, anxiety, or scary what-ifs is not of God and must be taken captive (2 Timothy 1:7).
The next time you’re offered a steaming cup of borrowed stress, politely decline. Instead, hand your worries to the One who already knows tomorrow. God has given you everything you need for today, and when tomorrow comes, His grace will be waiting there too.