Episode 36: Breaking the Cycle of Worry: The Pause and Praise

TUNE IN AND SUBSCRIBE: APPLE PODCASTS I SPOTIFY I STITCHER

My mom used to say I loved to worry. Which was her way of saying I worried too much. She was right, I was a worrywart. But I’ve recently learned the secret for breaking the cycle of worry.

This cycle is important to break because it causes stress and as we know, stress has serious emotional, mental, and physical consequences.

You can be a devout Christ-follower and still suffer from worry.

At its root, worry is fear, and i’s clear from the scriptures that God wants to free us from fear. Over 365 times, the bible uses some form of the phrase “fear not.” God repeats it because he knows how susceptible we are to worry and how much it holds us back from living our lives to the full.

Despite earnest bible study and prayer, I was caught in the cycle of fear for years.

Sure, I would “cast my cares on him” (1 Peter 5:7) in prayer but then minutes, even seconds later, I’d start thinking and worrying again. 

I used to try to motivate myself to stop the cycle by seeing it as an obedience issue. I thought if I saw it as sin, I could repent for fear of bad consequences. But that didn’t work. It just made me feel guilty and compounded my worries. Seems you can’t fight fear with fear.

Recently I learned a biblical principle that finally broke the cycle of worry for me: the pause and praise.

We’ve all heard that we should surrender our cares to God. But when it comes to our deepest desires and fears, that’s easier said than done. I could do it only after I’d exhausted all other methods. Too weary to go on, all I could do was stop.

During those times, I was sad and frustrated with myself. I was afraid that I’d never get motivated again. God is showing me that what we do during these pauses is critical.

God can use our pauses powerfully if we fill them with praise.

Praise is simply speaking out God’s goodness and thanking him for all he has done and will do in our lives. It is thanking him for answering our prayers in the spiritual realm even before we see proof in the physical.

For example, in 2020 I couldn’t see how my sales team was going to achieve their goals while we were on lock down. The situation was so impossible, I decided to put the power of the praise-filled pause into practice. I thanked God for the sales that would come despite the circumstances. All glory to God, in 2020 our team finished number one in our region.

Rather than allowing the frustration and fear to overwhelm me, I praised God and he moved in power on our behalf.

There is something so pleasing to God when we stop everything we are working towards and become wholly dependent on his sovereignty.

Jesus calls us to be like children to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). Little children believe their parents are like superheroes who can do anything. They fully trust that their parents will care for their needs. This is the stance we are to take with our Father God.

When we pause, we acknowledge his trustworthiness, power, grace, and unfailing love.

It is encouraging to know that God gives us something we can do in the pause. We can worship and praise him. Psalm 8:2 (TPT) attests to the supernatural power of childlike praise:

“You have built a stronghold by the songs of children.

    Strength rises up with the chorus of infants.

    This kind of praise has power to shut Satan’s mouth.

    Childlike worship will silence

    the madness of those who oppose you.”

I need the power of the praise-filled pause in my life today more than ever.

As COVID and its effects linger on and news of war, corruption, and abuse fills our news feeds, it’s been hard not to worry. My heart is overwhelmed with the desire to help the broken, confused, oppressed, and hurt.  

Some days worry creeps back in and succeeds in temporarily stealing my joy. In those moments, I remember Jesus’ words, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28).

A few weeks ago, the news got to me. I decided enough was enough. I got out my journal, determined to release my worries to God. I made a list which was helpful to see exactly how big my burden was. It was a physical representation of my cares that I put before God in surrender.

As I prayed, God said to stop trying to control the outcomes; to stop striving. Instead, where I wanted to push, I praised. I practiced my faith by thanking God for the outcomes I desired even though I saw no physical way for them to happen.

And, miraculously, the breakthrough I’d been anticipating came. And even though there was great physical blessing in it, I realized the real breakthrough wasn’t in the physical, it was the freedom, joy, and peace that came from truly releasing all my worries to God.