“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.” – John 14:1

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to be able to take things as they come without getting worried or stressed? While others seem wired to obsess over every possible thing that could go wrong? I would probably put myself somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, but if I’m honest, I’d say I swing closer to the worry-wart side of the continuum.

Being pregnant has been tough. There are so many possible things to worry about! Thus, it didn’t help when my doctor told me that I was measuring a bit small late into my pregnancy. What could this mean?

Should I be concerned? I asked him. He told me not to worry. He said he would measure me the following week, and if I was still small he would schedule an ultrasound; but at the moment, there was no cause for concern.

Well, I left his office, and I’d like to say I didn’t feel concerned. But I did! In fact, it was all I could think about!

Thankfully, I am married to a man who swings to the other side of the continuum, and he told me what I already knew – “There is no use in worrying. There is nothing to do but trust God and know that whatever happens, He is in control.”

So today, I woke up and when I felt that worrisome sensation creeping into my mind and heart, I decided to turn to God’s word to combat it. I looked up as many verses with the word “trust” as I could find. One of my favorites was John 14:1, in which Jesus tells his disciples, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”

But what stood out to me more than the word trust was the word let. Jesus says, “Don’t LET your hearts be troubled.” The word ‘let’ implies that we are the ones who allow ourselves to be troubled. We actually permit it to happen. And since Jesus says this is a command, it also implies that we have the power to stop ourselves from becoming troubled. How? By trusting in him.

TRUST in GOD = the antidote to worry

Thus, we don’t have to worry or be troubled. It’s a choice that we make. Worrisome circumstances are going to come up in life. That’s just a part of living on this earth. But how I let them affect me is entirely up to me. I can choose to allow worry to take root in my heart and mind and leave me feeling perpetually troubled and anxious. Or I can choose to trust God no matter the situation.

What about you? What will you choose?