{"id":969,"date":"2024-05-29T09:47:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-29T14:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/?p=969"},"modified":"2024-10-08T16:11:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T21:11:05","slug":"how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"How Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

"worry<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along that path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes along and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful<\/strong>. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop \u2013 thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mark 4: 14-20<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Edward Welch\u2019s excellent book on worry, anxiety, and fear titled, Running Scared: fear, worry, and the God of rest<\/a>, the author helps readers unravel the damage done by persistent fretting. Throughout this resource , Welch helps Christians better understand the foundation of their fears. This passage in Mark explains how many individuals can get trapped into the temporary material (or physical) blessings in this life.<\/p>\n

Worry kills our spiritual life<\/strong><\/h2>\n* * He tells us that there are specific spiritual life killers. Namely, we can get caught up in the deceitfulness of wealth (Matthew 19:23-24); the desires for other things (Romans 7:8); and worries.<\/p>\n * Welch explains what worry can do to dismantle and stymie our spiritual growth \u2013<\/p>\n * \nWorry is focused inward.<\/em><\/li>\nIt prefers self-protection over trust.<\/em><\/li>\nIt can hear many encouraging words \u2013 even God\u2019s words \u2013 and stay unmoved.<\/em><\/li>\nIt can be life-dominating.<\/em><\/li>\nIt is connected to your money and desires in that it reveals the things that are valuable to you.<\/em><\/li>\nIt can reveal that you love something more than Jesus. It crowds Jesus out of your life.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhen we trust in God inner freedom begins<\/strong><\/h2>\n* ** The more we linger on this passage from Mark and ask God to reveal to us areas where we are prone to worry, we can begin to discover inner freedom. We can start on the path to a deeper internal freedom from anxiety and fear that paralyzes us from living fully in the gift of these twenty-four hours.<\/p>\n ** Imagine learning to lean in closer to Jesus when facing uncertainty and fears rather than trying to prop ourselves up in our own meager strength.<\/p>\n ** God\u2019s plans are always superior to our own<\/strong><\/h2>\n ** Throughout this encouraging resource, we can learn to rest in God rather than making all sorts of backup plans and human devised maneuvers to keep us safe. God desires that we cling to him in our hour of need and put the full weight of our trust in him alone.<\/p>\n ** When worry comes calling, run to Jesus<\/strong><\/h2>\n ** As Welch concludes, our worry is a sign that we are in danger. Not danger from without\u2026but from within. It\u2019s our heart that needs quieting. It\u2019s our soul that needs calming. Truly, our greatest need in times of worry is to turn immediately to our heavenly Father and tell him all about our fears. We can grow to become fruitful believers who image Christ well to an unbelieving world when we cast our cares unto the Lord and bask in his perfect love for us.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ** *\u00a0 The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along that path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes along and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5318,"featured_media":978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,1],"tags":[408,414,411,405],"class_list":["post-969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-devotion","category-uncategorized","tag-god-desires-our-trust","tag-we-can-learn-to-rest-in-gods-care","tag-worry-makes-us-spiritually-unfruitful","tag-worry-paralyzes-us"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth How Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Imagine learning to lean in closer to Jesus when facing uncertainty and fears rather than trying to prop ourselves up in our own meager strength.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth How Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imagine learning to lean in closer to Jesus when facing uncertainty and fears rather than trying to prop ourselves up in our own meager strength.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Michele Howe Writes and Reviews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MicheleHoweAuthor\/?ref=bookmarks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-29T14:47:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-08T21:11:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/2042\/2024\/05\/upset-534103_640.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michele Howe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@reviewermom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michele Howe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/\",\"name\":\"How Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth How Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-29T14:47:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-08T21:11:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#\/schema\/person\/4c69d49ed101908835a1b9c0f08dd2cb\"},\"description\":\"Imagine learning to lean in closer to Jesus when facing uncertainty and fears rather than trying to prop ourselves up in our own meager strength.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/2024\/05\/how-worry-paralyzes-our-spiritual-growth\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Worry Paralyzes Our Spiritual Growth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/michelehowewrites\/\",\"name\":\"Michele Howe Writes and Reviews\",\"description\":\"MicheleHoweWrites will offer thoughtful essays which unpack Christian biblical principles to apply in daily life. 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