Welcome to Week #2 of the Made Like Martha Mobile Book Club. We are so glad that you are here. Today we are talking about a theme found in Chapter 2.
Can I tell you a secret? I’m ready to turn in my Super Woman cape because the weight of it on my shoulders exhausts me. That’s because it comes with a 985-pound gold medal in worrying. You see, I’m an expert worrier. If something is alive, dead, inanimate, or has between two and four feet, I can worry about it. If there’s a problem, I take it on and try to control it.
I know God wants to give me spiritual rest, but I have a hard time trusting Him.
I even worry about my dog.
Recently our family moved back to Texas from the Middle East with our Maltese Poodle, Mourinho. During the weeks leading up to our departure, I worried about how the dog would survive the trip. Every time I thought about it, my mind spun out of control to the tune of doubts like these:
- What if Mourinho stopped breathing during the flight?
- What if he got lost in Frankfurt during our one-hour transfer?
- What if US Customs turned our dog away?
I tried not to worry while we did all the things pertaining to canine travel. My husband called the airline 17 times. We updated the dog’s vaccines and had a microchip injected in his back. We filled out documents 48 hours prior to departure, and at the airport, I gave him half the prescribed sedative.
Relief flooded me when we handed Mourinho’s crate over to the airline. The dog was out of my hands, and there was nothing I could do but trust he’d be okay and enjoy the 24-hour trip as best I could.
In the same way, we find peace when we surrender our worries to God and rest in His love and care for us.
You probably know that as well as I do, but if you’re like me, you find it difficult to control anxious thoughts in your own strength.
How can we learn to trust God and stop worrying?
Katie Reid’s new book Made Like Martha helps God’s daughters learn to lay down their Super Woman capes and stop spinning their worry wheels. We have a Heavenly Father who loves and cares for us.
Chapter 2, “The Worry and Worship Conflict,” encouraged me with this life-changing truth: “We starve worry when we feast on worship.” Have you ever noticed it’s impossible to worship God and worry at the same time?
Worship grows our faith and shrinks our worries.
Psalm 62 reminds us how to find spiritual rest:
The Psalmist doesn’t stop at just telling himself to relax. He finds rest as he reminds himself of God’s nature and attributes.
Friend, are you carrying the weight of worry on your shoulders?
You might be facing situations a lot more unsettling than transporting a dog internationally, but you can rest because God is your Rock, your Fortress, your Refuge, and your Salvation. If you are battling worry over a situation or person you love, try these four steps Katie outlines chapter two:
1. Recount God’s characteristics
Read a passage like Psalm103, make a list of God’s attributes, and worship Him for who He is.
2. Recall a specific promise
Ask the Lord for a specific Bible verse that speaks to your situation and turn it into a prayer. Keep reminding yourself of that truth
3. Remember God’s faithfulness in the past.
As we ask God to help us with new challenges, let’s not forget what He’s already done to show His faithfulness to us in the past. Let’s praise and thank Him.
4. Release the situation to God’s keeping.
Instead of trying to solve a problem on our own, let’s release it to God’s care. Each time that worry returns, we say again, “Lord, I trust you with this.”
Made Like Martha gave me some tools I needed to combat worry and reminded me I can find rest as God’s beloved daughter. In case you’re wondering about my dog, he made the trip just fine! I spun those worry wheels and exhausted myself needlessly.
Are trouble and anxiety knocking at your door, friend? What if we grow our faith and starve our worries by making a special effort today to worship the Father who cares for us?
Now it’s your turn: What’s one thing God did for you in the past that makes it easier to trust Him today? What is a promise you like to remind yourself of?
Made Like Martha: Good News for the Woman Who Gets Things Done by Katie M. Reid is an invitation for go-getters to discover what it means to rest as God’s daughter without compromising their God-given design as doers. Join us on Facebook for the “Made Like Martha Sisterhood” as we embrace our design for God’s glory and the good of others.
Follow this link to find me on Facebook for daily encouragement.
Linking up with Kelly Balarie’s #RaRa Linkup, Holley Gerth’s Coffee for your Heart, Crystal Storms’ #HeartEncouragement, Lyli Dunbar’s #FaithonFire, and Arabah Joy’s Grace and Truth. Check out these communities for more encouragement.
If you purchase this book through my Amazon Affiliate link, I make a small commission towards the expense of running this site at no extra cost to you.
Thank you so much hosting the Made like Marthamobile book club this week!
Excited and delighted to do so, Katie! Thank YOU!
This: “The Psalmist doesn’t stop at just telling himself to relax. He finds rest as he reminds himself of God’s nature and attributes.” So, so good. I can attest that this truly works, but I needed the reminder! Thank you Betsy!
Yes, Alyson! I need to keep reminding myself of this daily. (And trying today to put it into practice.)
Hi Alyson: Yes, may we rest within as we remember who He is!
I’m worrying over a lot tight now and burnt out and can’t get myself to worship. I always have a dependency to trust in what I see and my ways instead of our faithful father who has been so faithful to me. Thank you for this. I need to hear it as I am in tears right now.
Lori, I am praying for you now. I know what it feels like to be in tears, friend. Praying for you. May the Lord give you grace to see how Big and Able He is and to trust His love for you.
Dear Lori: Thanks for sharing your heart. Praying that God will remind you how deeply loved you are. Whether we worry or worship, His love for us is secure.
All good steps. In the hours after Dan’s death, when friends and family descended into our house, a dear friend said, “We need some worship music.” And later, some of my oldest kids’ friends gathered upstairs with guitars and singing. It makes me tear up now to remember how comforting it was to be surrounded by worship. God surely inhabits our praise.
Yes, He does, Lisa! I wrote this post a few weeks ago, but it’s reminding me today to turn up the worship in my home, heart, and mind! Your friend was wise.
Oh Lisa: Thank you for sharing this. Worship is so comforting. ((Big hug))
Gah! I soooo understand the pet predicament. We felt those rings of worry closing in when we moved back to the mainland from Hawaii. And that wasn’t halfway around the world, like you! Glad to hear the dog made it okay…I wondered if you were bringing or leaving your sweet pooch. Love this correlation to Katie’s topic and your summary of her new title. Sounds like a good read!
Hi Kristi: Good to “see” you here. Hope you’re having a nice summer.
Hey there Kristi! Yes, the book came at a perfect time for me, just when I had Martha-sized to-do lists! And I’m so glad we have our dog here. Some days have been rough, but I have my little “feel-good therapy dog” at my side. 🙂 And YOU just recently came through a canine crisis yourself, I know.
Yes, I see that it was worry that was fueling Martha’s responses, and I see this in myself as well. I’m trusting God for grace and self-discipline to channel that energy into prayer and a greater faith in His ability to take care of the people and things that bring on the worry.
Michele: It’s all about trust, isn’t it? Thankful that He is able to grow our trust and remind us that He’s got us and doesn’t overlook one detail.
Yes, one of the translations, I think it is The Message, says, “Martha, Martha, you are getting yourself worked up over many things.” That’s what I tend to do too, but yes to channeling our energy in a more beneficial way!
Great points! And it truly is impossible to worship God and worry at the same time. I’ve found it helpful to write out my worship as I pray it to God. You can check out my most recent worship prayer at: https://plantedbylivingwater.wordpress.com/2018/07/31/worship-with-me-27/
I’ve been publishing these on my blog almost every Tuesday this year, in case you are interested in checking out more of them.
Have a blessed worshipful day! 😊
Hi Ruth: Asking God to help us choose worship over worry today. Thanks for engaging with the Made Like Martha mobile book club.
Thanks for sharing your link here, Ruth.
My first reaction is to say there’s not just ONE thing He’s done, but time after time, He keeps doing things that give me zero choice but to trust Him.
But if I had to pick just ONE, I’d probably say the restoration of my relationship with my dad (which I’ll be talking about next week in the book club)…. if He answered prayers concerning all the hard and messy details of THAT scenario, I know I can trust Him with others.
I look forward to reading that story, Kristin. And yes, God has done things time after time for me too. I’m trying this week to put into practice those four steps (well, there are FIVE in the book!) that Katie shared.
I love this: “We starve worry when we feast on worship.” I need this reminder constantly 🙂
Betsy, I’m glad your dog made it back safely. I was thinking of how you were doing when I heard of American Pastor Andrew Brunson being held in prison in Turkey, although the last I heard he is now in house arrest. Be Heard Project has the details if you’re interested…though you may already know.
Thanks so much, Dolly. I am following the situation closely on the news and via texts from friends in Turkey. I cried tears of joy all morning when he was released to his home. Please keep praying for Andrew. He is not out of the woods yet.
Unfortunately I’m an expert worrier too. 🙁 Sometimes I try to convince God that THIS thing (the worry of the day) is okay to worry about because it’s different, it’s harder, etc. But even THIS thing needs to be traded in for worship. Thanks, Betsy!
Oh yes, Lisa. We can give ourselves all kinds of self-talk about why THIS is worth worrying about. I try to justify myself and say, “Well, of course I’m worried!” But God has everything under His loving and powerful control!
I am also an expert worrier. Thank you for the reminder to take off my cape too!
Thanks for joining in here, Laurie! Let’s both take those capes off today, shall we? 😉
We all think we’re Super Woman, don’t we? As women seems like worry is in our DNA. We work so hard to keep all of the balls in the air. Work, family, friends, etc. , it’s exhausting. And how often do we worry about the things God has already taken care of for us?! It’s such a comfort to know that we can count on His faithfulness! Thank you for these wonderful tips to choose worship instead of worry. Praying that we will turn off worry and turn to worship instead. Blessings!
Yes Connie, you’ve described our Super Woman syndrome so well! I think you’re right: worry comes in our DNA. Blessings to you too as you seek to turn those worries over to our Loving and powerful Father. 🙂