Worship Over Worries

We all have faced and will most definitely face an endless number of situations where worries and fears knock at the door of our hearts. With so many things happening around us, we can get easily distracted and forget that our God is sovereign. 

In last month’s blog post, Clovis shared about how the pandemic has made the church stronger despite us being locked away in our homes. God was and is definitely still with us and has been leaving His fingerprints all over the situation. So with that in mind, let us ponder and reflect on how God has been with us through it all and how He has brought us to where we are right now at this juncture despite how, more often than not, fear and anxiety had crept into our hearts and gotten the better of us.

As for me, as someone who really dislikes uncertainty, I worry a lot. Worries will arise from many different areas in my life, be it education, career, relationships and even my own spiritual life. Looking back and analyzing my life retrospectively, I can see how God’s love has been unfailing and how He was my only constant. God’s fingerprints were indeed all over my life and it was then that I realised that I had been unnecessarily worried about the minute matters that affected me way more than it should have.

When I was studying, I remember worrying about which secondary school I should to go to, which course to take on in the Polytechnic, then again in the University. Having just graduated, yes you are right, I started worrying about my career. My worries never seem to end and yet during all those times, God was ever present and I know I am where I am because of God’s grace upon my life. Every school, every course and every situation I was put in was for my own good and growth. He placed me right where I was supposed to be, and He never left me nor forsook me. 

In Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV), He says

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

This was one of the verses that gave me peace and actually shut out my worries out. Especially with regard to my spiritual life. 

I worry a lot and make many excuses when I am placed in a position of discomfort. One example was back in 2018 when God placed me in a position of leadership in church. Fear, anxiety and worries started loading up my mind.   

“God, I really don’t think I can do this. I’m not fit for it.”
“God, please get someone to take over me”
“God, how can I do this? I don’t know what to do.” 

I know God heard my cries but strangely, He didn’t bring me out of my conundrum. Instead, He brought me through it. He held my hand and led my every step and through that journey and experience, I grew spiritually. So much so that in June 2019 (when I was not yet part of the The Encounter [TE] fam), I even asked God for more ways and avenues to serve Him. But funnily enough, when God gave me an opening to serve Him in TE, I was once again filled with many worries and fears (I know, I sound like a broken record player but these emotions kept returning). Despite being the one who asked for it, I worried about how I was going to cope with my commitments then, my final year examinations, balancing everything with my future job etc. But here I am, serving Him in TE despite all my previous worries and I know that this is definitely where God wants me to be. 

Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that God’s ways and thoughts are something we would not be able to comprehend. Our lives are in His hands and He knows what He is doing even when things do not seem to go our way or when it does not even make any sense to us. All we need to do is to trust Him and obey His word.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

So instead of worrying our whole lives away and have our minds muddled with every single thing, let us continue to praise and worship Him. Trust that He knows what He is doing. One song that I really love to sing and declare is “Tremble” By Mosaic MSC.

Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear
Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble
Jesus, Jesus

Your name is a light that the shadows can't deny
Your name cannot be overcome
Your name is alive forever lifted high
Your name cannot be overcome

The chorus and bridge really blesses my heart and reminds me that God is above all my worries and fears. Those circumstances I spend so much time worrying did not matter anymore and to be honest, it should not have mattered at all in the first place. God is above all things.

So, whatever you are worrying about, whatever you fear or is holding you back, let go and worship. Set your eyes upon Jesus and allow Him to navigate your life. 

God Bless you,
Nathania Trixie Demot
Head (Outreach & Finance), The Encounter