I spend my days scattering seeds of worry into soil made fertile by the lies I believe. My depression sprouts quick, like weeds that takes over a garden. After all, it was a lie that planted that first weed back in the beginning. And it was that same lie that took deep root, spread and brought death to the world.
It’s when I’m teaching my Sunday School class that God often teaches me. I’m honoring my vow to help train each tender shoot in the truth of God’s Word. I cover one child’s eyes with a scarf, turning him round and round. I ask him to walk forward, and to listen for the voices of his friends as they direct him safely to his destination. When the fun is over, we read from the Sermon on the Mount and talk about worry.
We live life blind, not being able to see beyond the moment in front of us. It requires trust in the love of God, believing that He will guide our next step.
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34)
I then do an object lesson with my class. I show them a bottle filled with water that I’ve labeled “trust.” I show them another bottle filled with oil that I’ve labeled “worry.” I pour one into the other and shake it. Just as oil and water do not mix, trust and worry don’t mix either.
When I worry, I am not trusting in the love of God. I have ceased listening for His voice to guide me in darkness. Instead, I listen to the lies that tell me to worry about what’s ahead of me: “I can’t do it.” “What if…” “I’ll never make it, it’s too hard.”
It’s trust in His love that guides me in the darkness. It’s believing that He cares for me much more than He cares for the creation whom He feeds and dresses each day. When I tune my heart to hear His voice, the soil of my heart becomes hostile to the lies that produce offspring of worry, anxiety, and fear. My depression can’t grow without healthy seeds and fertile soil.
Before the kids leave, I hand them each a sheet of paper. At the top is written, “When I am worried, I will count His gifts.” I teach them to count His blessings because remembering His love chokes out worry. As we talk about His gifts, I realize that I have reaped what I have sown. In sowing seeds of worry, I’ve made it easy for depression to take root and grow.
The kids leave to return to their parents, hopefully with greater thanks and less worry in their hearts. I pack up my things and turn out the light to the Sunday School classroom. As I close the door, I thank Him in my heart for the grace that changes hearts from that full of weeds to a beautiful harvest of blessing. And I begin to scatter seeds of thanks for His endless love.
“Worry is the antithesis of trust. You simply cannot do both. They are mutually exclusive.” Elizabeth Elliot
“Satan is ever seeking to inject that poison into our hearts to distrust God’s goodness - especially in connection with his commandments. That is what really lies behind all evil, lusting and disobedience. A discontent with our position and portion, a craving from something which God has wisely held from us. Reject any suggestion that God is unduly severe with you. Resist with the utmost abhorrence anything that causes you to doubt God’s love and his loving kindness toward you. Allow nothing to make you question the Father’s love for his child.” A.W. Pink
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:25-34
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