Can we really eliminate worry?

March 9, 2026

Maria Nehemiah, Worry, Trusting God, God's presence, Genesis 28, Jacob , , , , Leave a comment

At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he had a dream . . . Genesis 28:11–12 NLT

God has been pinpointing several accounts in the Bible to capture my attention about sinful worry. The patriarch Jacob’s reaction to stress while fleeing contrasts with my well-practiced angst. How could this young man sleep knowing his murderous brother was after him?

Then there is Nehemiah. This brave Jew’s response on a perilous mission trip reinforces what I still lack—solid faith that replaces fretting.

Consider what the audacious royal cupbearer for King Artaxerxes undertook when he journeyed the three to four months from Susa to Jerusalem. Not only could he not predict what each successive travel day would bring, he couldn’t plan for potential obstacles or challenges involved in rebuilding the wall. How did he handle all the ‘What ifs’?

Scripture such as these, along with life’s circumstances, press me to admit how little sway I have over life in general and my particular circumstances. My general response as I have aged has been to resort to negative forecasting.

Yet, each time God provides what I need despite pathetic night-interrupting prayers for “all to go well tomorrow,” I tell myself, “Maria, see, you CAN and you SHOULD trust the Lord. He always comes through.”

But I don’t change. In fact, after God has answered a prayer, especially involving the unpredictability of air travel, I’ve muttered, “Yeah, but if I knew that the next flights would go well, I wouldn’t HAVE to worry.”

But God! In a ‘wispy,’ almost ephemeral way, I’m now sensing that I might not need to know how tomorrow will turn out—that the FACT of Jesus’ promised presence and provision is enough.

Mike Foster, author of the book The Seven Primal Questions, sorts all events into three different categories—what we can’t control, what over which we have partial control, and what we CAN determine.

Current struggles concerning our cat Jason’s change in eating habits, sleep ‘success,’ personal digestion issues, emotional states of family members, a friend’s husband potentially dying, and now the military conflict in Iran have impressed on me the futility of worry. And I haven’t even mentioned future travel.

I’m daydreaming about what it would be to just hand everything over to God.

But what if . . .

What if I simply relinquished each ‘worrisome’ circumstance I mentioned? If I just relaxed into a state that proclaimed and REALLY believed in my heart, “What does it matter what happens tomorrow if Jesus is with us? Whatever He brings about is His ‘good’ plan for us. He will give what we need. He has promised to never leave us.”

What fun it would be just to pray earnestly, calling on His character, past deeds, and promises of future grace. And then to let it all go and embrace the day for the joy of it.

Please, Father, strengthen me to try Your way.

God didn’t prevent the problem, but saved me OUT of it.

February 6, 2026

Maria 2 Timothy 2, Answers to Prayer, Fear, God's Peace, God's Promises, Psalm 34, Spiritual Warfare, suffering , , , Leave a comment

This poor woman called, and the Lord heard her; he saved her out of all her troubles. Psalm 34:6, paraphrased

I have practiced worrying about travel plans for decades. My mom patterned this habit, and I’ve built on it. But I’m working on changing my focus from what “might” go wrong to picturing flights arriving on schedule. After all, isn’t that what the airlines are aiming for?

Last weekend, I was headed home from eight joy-filled days with Chloe and Vera in Tampa while their parents were off celebrating 20 years of marriage. The now-famous 2025 polar vortex was at play across almost half the country. Anticipating traveling through frigid time zones, I rescheduled my return trip one day earlier due to worsening weather.

I kept myself peaceful by meditating on and repeating out loud God’s assurance that He has not given me a spirit of fear, but one of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

But the day before my travel day, Delta canceled both flights: Tampa to Atlanta and Atlanta to Huntsville. This poor woman cried out to her heavenly Father, and He graciously walked me through rebooking new flights. Then came another change. Again, the Lord guided me. Finally, early on Saturday morning, I left the house and übered to the airport.

I made it to Atlanta and spent the next four to five hours in a lounge enjoying lunch, writing emails, texting with three dear women and my husband—all who were praying and encouraging me—and, most of all, calmly trusting God.

Once I was in my assigned seat on the second flight, news came that, due to the frigid temps in Atlanta, a pipe in the rear bathroom had cracked and the plane would need to be repaired. When the pilot prepped us with the new departure time—four hours hence—my heart supplied Psalm 34:6. Providentially, I’ve been memorizing this psalm and had actually practiced reciting my verses in the lounge.

Immediately, I took on the role of a poor woman, crying out to a loving God who promises to hear His kids when they call. “FATHER, help! I need you. I’m crying out to You. Mike has been waiting for me all day. He doesn’t want to go through four more long hours until I board again. Please save me OUT of this trouble!”

Two minutes later, the pilot brought us good news. A new plane had been found, and we could deboard and head to a different gate. Within an hour, we were wheels up. I was cheering God all the way to Huntsville.

The man seated next to me had shared a lot of his life while we were on the “broken” plane. We had even touched on his spiritual background. I had even prayed out loud when the pilot informed us of the cracked pipe, but I sensed he was indifferent. So when he exclaimed, “What good luck that they found another plane for us,” I replied with a hearty, “Praise God!” and then went on to suggest that he probably knows that there is no such thing as luck.

He politely turned on his phone to watch a video, canceling me with his headphones. But no true word about our God is wasted. Besides, I was high-fiving God inwardly.

No, God has NOT given me a spirit of fear (Satan traffics in those), but His Son’s Spirit, which is one of resurrection power, secure love, and sound biblical reasoning. God doesn’t always block the troubles, but He is a ready help to rescue us OUT of them or to enable us to endure them with grace.

Feed on Him, the book, is now available on Amazon in both paper and Kindle format.