Five Verses to Claim Today When You're Worried About Tomorrow

"As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister, called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.' " (Luke 10:38-41)

I feel a deep affinity for Martha in this Biblical account.

I know she was a crazy mess, running around like a mad woman, trying to feed everyone, and muttering under her breath about how her sister wasn't pulling her weight. But I've been a guest in homes where there wasn't a Martha, and sometimes I felt like my hosts were not actually aware I was coming. Also, I felt hungry.

But that is a post for another time. (Working title: "This World Has Room for Both Mary and Martha" maybe?)

Today, I hear Jesus' tender, loving voice when He said, "Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things...but Mary has chosen what is better."

Today, as a worrier, I hear Him say to me, "Elizabeth, Elizabeth, you are worried about many things. But I want you to choose what is better."

What is the better way when we're worried? 

Mary showed the answer when she camped out at Jesus' feet, drawing close to Him, giving her attention and devotion. She focused on the Logos--the Word made flesh. Until we can do the same and camp out at Jesus' feet near His throne in heaven, we can focus on the Word.  

We can affirm the truth of it. We can claim it.

How do we "claim" God's Word and the truth it conveys? Here's one process to try out.

1. Read it silently to yourself.
2. Read it out loud. (This really gets the enemy, by the way. He can't read our minds, so he's not laid low by what we think. But the Word of God spoken out loud? That's slaying the dragon, sweet girl.)
3. Write it out.
4. Memorize it. (Need a way to do this? Click here for a printable plan.)
5. Repeat it.
6. Share it.
7. Act on it. Act like it. 

God's Word is rich with anti-worrying promises and precepts that lead us along the better way. Here are 5 to start with today if tomorrow is weighing heavily on your mind and soul.

Click here for a printable version of these cards.

1. Joshua 3:5 ~ "Then Joshua told the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.' " When we "consecrate" ourselves, we set ourselves apart for God's use. Other versions of the Bible translate the original Hebrew word qadash as "make holy" or "sanctify." When the Bible talks about something or someone being holy, it means it or they are reserved, apart from the ordinary, for a special purpose. I need to dedicate myself today to being ready for what God will do with me and for me tomorrow.

2. Psalm 16:7-9 ~ "I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure." These were my favorite exam-anxiety defense verses in college. I loved the idea that God was working on me even while I slept. And many times, in my dorm room before the test, I'd be yelling, "God is at my right hand! I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN!" I also pictured Him sitting to my right during the exam, literally steadying me as I wrote. Okay, I was a total GPA-worshiping, neurotic freak. But this verse is powerful for any worry-worn situation. Seek God and His wisdom. Check His Word for guidance. Pray about "it." Ask faithful (and faith-full) friends for counsel. Do what you can. Then go to bed and "rest secure" and let God do His thing while you sleep. (He never does sleep, BTW...see Psalm 121:4.) You might also want to try yelling...er, "declaring," "God is at my right hand! I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN." If nothing else, the enemy will hate it. (See #2 in the "how to claim God's Word" list above.)

3. Philippians 4:6,7 ~ "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I look at this verse as a path from worry to peace. Click here to print a road map for this path.

4. Psalm 27:13,14 ~ "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." I always thought "the land of the living" referred to heaven--the place of eternal life. I looked at this as a promise that no matter how bad now gets, I WILL see God's goodness then in my eternal home. But recently, I learned that "the land of the living" in the original Hebrew refers to life on this earth. In spite of the sin and destruction and evil and heartbreak we experience ourselves and see around us, God is still here. He has not abandoned us. And if we wait for Him, if we are strong and "take heart," we can confidently expect to see His goodness here and now, not just then.

5. Isaiah 43:2 ~ "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Whatever is worrying you is possibly--probably?--very real. I LOVE that this verse doesn't pretend we're never in deep waters or hot fires. When you pass and walk, God says, not if. The Great I AM knows about the floods and the flames. But He declares a couple truths here: 1)He's with us IN them; 2)they will not consume us. They will not destroy us. With God's help, we can and will come out on the other side. 

My mom's favorite quote about worrying is from Corrie ten Boom: "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." Claim the strength God offers you in His love letter today, sweet one! Then, expect His amazing things, His security, His peace, His goodness, and His protection tomorrow.

Showdown in the Desert

Never mind training him. Here's how to slay the dragon.

What in the Word: Matthew 4:1-11

Hang-Onto-It Verse: Matthew 4:4 (NCV) ~ "It is written in the Scriptures, 'A person does not live by eating only bread, but by everything God says.'"

The Back Story:
At this point in Jesus' life on earth, He has been born, presented at the temple, and baptized. Now, right before beginning His public ministry, He spends 40 days in the desert, fasting and being tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:2 tells us He was hungry. Imagine how hungry you would be if you hadn't eaten for 40 days. Do not let the fact that Jesus was (and is!) 100% God even as He was, at this point, also 100% human make you think He felt hunger less than you or I would have under similar circumstances. You can be sure He felt every bit of it. In this weakened condition, He is confronted by the devil. The devil is referred to by several names or descriptions in the Bible. Check out Revelation 20:2. What is the devil called in this verse?

The Main Event:
Read Matthew 4:1-11. What "weapon" does Jesus use every time to fire back at the devil's taunts and attempted traps? What does the devil end up doing in response to Jesus' answers?

The Take-Away:
If Scripture is the weapon of choice for Jesus--THE Word! THE Christ!--Himself when He's fighting the enemy, you'd better believe it should be our weapon of choice, too. But we can't fire a weapon that isn't loaded. It's like pulling the trigger on a gun with no bullets. Look up Ephesians 6:17. What piece of armor is God's Word compared to? 

Scripture is our offensive tool against the enemy; other parts of our spiritual armor are defensive. In other words, when the enemy fires an arrow at us, we can put on our helmet of salvation or put up our shield of faith to defend ourselves and deflect his arrow. On the other hand, Scripture we have hidden in our hearts is a sword we can use to do damage, to inflict a wound, to take a stab at the enemy, to slay the dragon! But we have to know it to use it! This means memorizing Bible verses. And in the words of one of my favorite Bible teachers, Beth Moore, "Yes you can do it." Yes. You. Can.

The Truth in Action (or "Great. What do I do now?"):
I'd memorized some Bible verses during Vacation Bible School as a child and had tried to learn a few as an adult, but I could never make them stick. I wanted to get pieces of God's Word so embedded in my brain and heart that I could recall them easily years after first memorizing them. One day about a year ago, I believe God dropped a method for long-term Scripture memory into my brain, and it's been working ever since. Because I need all the mnemonics I can get, I've come up with an appropriate acrostic for this method: SWORD. Here's what to do if you want to give it a try:

S = Select a Scripture and a "Scripture spot." Pick a Bible verse (or a chunk of verses) you think you'll want to have in your arsenal for years to come. In other words, you might want to skip the "regulations about mildew" section of Leviticus in favor of something more along the lines of Philippians 4:6-8. What Scripture do you want to be able to fire off in a few days...and in a few months...and in a few years? Now pick a "Scripture spot," someplace you spend time in most days, preferably where you're doing one thing but have your mind free to think about something else. My spot is, weirdly enough, a seldom-used newspaper box near my mailbox. I do a walking loop back and forth in front of my house every morning for exercise, so I pass by this newspaper box several times each day. Your spot could be your bathroom mirror or a desk in your bedroom. My older daughter's "spot" is her daily planner.
W = Write it out. Hand-write or type out the Scripture you picked. I write mine on note cards that I then stick in a plastic zip-top storage bag for protection since I store them outside in the mailbox. Writing or typing out the verse or verses you're trying to memorize will jump-start the process and give you a reference to check while you're working on it.

O = Organize it into bite-sized pieces. Now start memorizing one chunk of your chosen Scripture(s) at a time. I pick pretty small chunks because that's all my brain can handle. For instance, when I memorized the Philippians passage mentioned above, I started with just "do not be anxious about anything." Keep repeating that chunk at different times during the course of a day or a couple days until you don't have to work very hard to recall it.
R = Really learn one chunk before you add on another. You're building a long-term memory here, so don't add on a new section of your target Scripture until the one you've been working on is firmly planted in your mind. Then, when you add on a new phrase, be sure to keep repeating what you've already learned. Again, to use the Philippians example, once I got good at "do not be anxious about anything," I tacked on "but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Your goal is to get these verses etched on your brain for permanent recall. This is not like science class where you're just trying to remember the life cycle of a rock long enough to ace the test. You want to know this stuff FOREVER. 
D = Do it all again. Keep repeating the verse you're working on, plus those you've already loaded into your Scripture arsenal. Write them out. Whisper them when you're lying in bed trying to fall asleep. Replay them in your mind while you're brushing your teeth. Keep a running list of them in a journal. Work them into your prayers. (Praying the Word of God = power prayer.) Say them out loud when you're feeling attacked, defeated, tempted, discouraged, weak, or uncertain. If you're not used to doing this, it might feel strange. But the devil can't read your mind, so he is only intimidated by what he can see and hear. And when he hears you saying Bible verses out loud, he feels your sword plunge in deep. And guess what? You've just slayed the dragon. 

"Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope 

for you, and your hope will not be cut off." (Proverbs 24:14 NIV)