"Worry is a powerful magnet."

 

A thought by H. Norman Wright from his book, When the Past Won't Let You Go (p. 45). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) 

It really can be.

Norman says, "We get caught up in the 'what ifs.' Perhaps we’re interested in what can go wrong in life. We’re fascinated by the possibilities. And when a possibility is discovered, we latch on with all of the 'what ifs' our minds can create."

He continues, "Worry is a special kind of fear. To create it, we elongate fear with two things—anticipation and memory. We then infuse it with our imagination and feed it with emotion. Then we become 'our own creation.' In its positive sense, anxiety is a God-given instinct that alerts us to fearful situations and prepares us to respond appropriately. But worry can also be like a car alarm system that won’t turn off.

"Pastor Earl Lee illustrates the difference: Worry is like racing an automobile engine while it is in neutral. The gas and noise and smog do not get us anywhere. But legitimate concern…is putting the car into low gear on your way to moving ahead. You tell yourself you are going to use the power God has given you to do something about the situation which could cause you to fret."

Norman goes on, "Worry immobilizes and doesn’t lead to action, while legitimate concern activates us to engage our thoughts to overcome the problem.

"There are many diseases in our world today, but worry is an old one—a disease of the imagination. A Swedish proverb says, 'Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.' Scripture speaks to this problem also: 'All the days of the afflicted are bad, but a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances] (Proverbs 15:15 AMP, brackets in original)."

He then asks, "Does our interior communicator reflect the positive or negative?

"When a negative thought develops, it activates a section of our brain that we’re probably not aware of at that moment, and it releases emotions related to the thought. If it’s a negative thought, one of those insidious 'downer' chemicals is released. But it doesn’t stop there. It also stimulates the release of another, which stimulates the release of yet another and so on. We wonder, 'What’s going on with me?'"

He says, "Chemicals released by negative emotions affect our brain’s nerve cells and cause difficulty in retrieving memories. That, in turn, suppresses the ability to remember and to think in constructive ways. Those who experience a major loss and are in grief or those who have experienced a trauma have even less ability to remember.

"Research shows that chemicals released in the brain as a result of positive thoughts don’t cause this kind of damage. Test yourself for a half an hour. Write out as many positive thoughts or blessings as you can and then read them out loud. How do you think you’ll feel at the end of the half hour?"

He then says, "There is more good news. Our thoughts can also create a calmness that helps control our emotions and rein them in before they spin out of control. Every positive or happy thought spurs our brains to action, releasing chemicals that make us feel good. These help us become a today and tomorrow person and break loose from the past. Take this statement: 'I am a today and tomorrow person,' and repeat it out loud ten times every day. We’ll experience a difference in mood and attitude."

We try the worry all the time so, let's try this, okay?

Yes, yes!