Today’s emphasis in walking out of worry is to quit something. Bob Goff encourages us to quit something every Thursday in order to remove what is unnecessary, to get our lives back, bit by bit.

Walking away from excess helps to train us to break away from other worrisome issues in our lives.

Today, I am quitting Halloween candy! It’s been laying around the house and at the office all month! It’s almost like I eat it because I am bored! So, I quit Halloween candy. If you see me eating some, slap it out of my hands!

What do you need to quit today?

GracePoint Church is creating a pathway for folks to walk out of worry. We meditated on the command/invitation of Jesus “Do not worry about your life…” (Matthew 6:25) If you would like to walk with us, here is the online version of our pathway and plan.

Today’s post is centered on the idea of forgiveness. Much of our worry is in relation to broken community. Nearly 10 of 10 issues that a therapist, counselor, coach, pastor, social worker, and/or hair stylist deals with has to do with our inability to have healthy relationships.

Unhealthy relationships feed on our inability to forgive offenses in constructive ways.

Paul said, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,” (Colossians 3:15) and the writer of Hebrews said, “Make every effort to live in peace with all people.” (Hebrews 12:14)

Peace means to join together; it insinuates that “something went down” and we’ve found a way to mend a friendship and to steward that friendship into future possibilities.

So, forgiving others is a way to extinguish worry in our lives. The famous saying reminds us of the potential in forgiveness,

“To forgive someone is to set a prisoner free, only to realize that the prisoner was you.”

The challenge for today is to take a step towards forgiving a broken relationship in our lives. May God give us grace and opportunity to do so.

My church is participating in a 14-day commitment to walking out of worry. If you’d like to follow along, download the resource, here.

Today we are praying an ancient prayer that helps us to engage the anxious parts of a usual day.

Prayers operate in a variety of ways, including refocusing our attention to our commitment to be worry-free. Prayer is like a basketball doing a pivot; it changes our view of a given situation and opens up healthy opportunities.

The prayer that we are praying together is St. Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer. A part of the prayer that I’ve enjoy is this refrain:

“Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;

In the mouth of each who speaks unto me.”

Each interaction that we have today with another could be a moment when God could speak to us. Instead of being anxious towards others, we should anticipate wisdom, hope, and love. In this way, we block worry and welcome God’s presence.

My church, Gracepoint Church, is engaging in a 14-day journey of walking out of worry. If you’d like to follow along with us, you can download a digital copy of the plan here.

Yesterday, we were challenged to name the big worry in our lives. To get it out in the open so we can begin to face it, head on. 1 Peter 5:7, from NT Wright’s Kingdom New Testament, says, “Throw all your care upon him, because he cares for you.”

Day two’s challenge is to cast that care to God. Here is an excerpt from the day’s challenge:

“Worrying initially feels productive, but it ultimately paralyzes. The wisdom from 1 Peter is to ‘cast’ anxiety away from ourselves, into the hands of a loving God who is able to deal with the particularities of that anxiety with grace and truth.”

The task for the day is to write our big worry on a piece of paper and, either in solitude or community, to burn the paper in a candle flame. (Note: please take extreme measures to be safe as you do this!) As you see the paper disintegrate into ashes, allow your cares to be given to God and rest in the hope that God cares for you.

Post your pictures of your “casting” practice and use the hashtag #ictworryfree.

My church, GracePoint Church, is doing a 14-day process of walking out of worry.

Day 1 is to name the big worry in our lives. As we name it, it’s power seems to shrink. In the dark, it’s able to spook us and to cast a shadow over our souls.

So, we have the chance to be brave and to name the worry and to begin the process of restoration.

My worry, which is also a residual opponent, is to be taken seriously. It’s hard to find its origin. My family, peers, and friends have always been affirming. It is something that I wrestle with from time to time.

So, it’s out there and ready to be grappled with as I seek Jesus, in community.

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