“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

Matthew 6:27

My late father-in-law’s favorite song was Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” This music marvel of an a cappella song has 7 tracks mixed together, each made using only McFerrin’s voice. Its carefree vibe and musical artistry made it a global phenomenon in the late 1980s. And it captured the heart of Terry, Deanna’s dad. Why? Because of the easygoing message that ushers the listener into a stress-reducing posture. Don’t worry. Be happy.

Oh, if it were that simple, right?

Worry and anxiousness are not a switch that you can flip; like you can control it. There is no internal knob that can turn down the negativity and amp up the positive. In fact, the opposite is often true. When you are stressing about a significant moment, telling yourself to stop worrying about it doesn’t decrease your anxiousness. More often, it increases the tension and nervousness. The worry doesn’t get smaller. Instead, your mind often spins out of control as it chases red herrings of worse-case scenarios and bigger and bigger impacts and outcomes. Trying to focus on not worrying only increases the rate at which you worry.

So what do you do instead?

McFerrin’s song is onto something. Finding and tuning your attention towards some things that bring you joy is one way to escape your worry. Getting your mind off the thing is effective. But it is also temporary. In my house, music is a big coping mechanism for stress and nervousness. Maybe it is for you too. It can help you to “be happy.”

But this Monday morning email has never been just about simple coping mechanisms to help you improve your life. Each week, I want to help you tap into the fount of goodness in God’s word and His movement in your life. As such, here is today’s dose of God’s goodness.

If you know how to worry, then you already have the tools to effectively manage that worry. You are already an expert at mitigating the problem.

What is worry? It is your mind fixating on an upcoming event or encounter. And something about that moment may (or will) have a negative element. Worrying is your mind fixating on that negative element. It is imagining it playing out in different scenarios. Worry uncovers all the nooks and crannies of negativity. It amplifies them and expands them. Like a jeweler who is inspecting a fine gem, worry rotates the negative possibility and analyzes it from every angle. Your mind has a remarkable ability to gaze into each facet of anxiousness and dwell in its magnificent madness.

Do you do this—zoom out on the impact and significance of the negative event at the same time you zoom in so closely that the worst is all you can ever see happening? If this were an Olympic sport, we would all be in the running to land on the podium.

I repeat. If you know how to worry, you know how to leverage your thoughts for good.

This is the power of prayerful meditation. If worry is zeroing in on an event or moment and letting your mind explore the negative, then prayerful meditation is zeroing in on the goodness of God and letting your mind do the same thing.

Prayer-filled meditation is focusing on a scripture and-or truth of God. And as your mind focuses on this scripture, you can zoom it out and look at it from every angle. Letting your mind chase down the rabbit holes of God’s word as it interacts with your real life is a peace-amplifying approach. This is the power of God’s word. This is the practical application of it in daily life.

For instance, you have a big event coming up. You are in charge of all the details and are the person that orchestrates the whole event. If it goes wrong, it will be your fault. Worrying and borrowing anxiousness zeros in on all the moving parts. Your mind can quickly begin to see Murphy around every corner. You know Murphy—“if it can go wrong, it will…” Your mind fixates on all these moving parts and how they will go wrong. Do you feel the constricting pressure? It can become paralyzing.

Now, in the same scenario, you intentionally pray and meditate your way through each working element of the event with the Word of God as you filter. For instance, Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Instead of letting your mind spiral out of control, you now go through each moment with this scripture being prayed over the moments—every transition, every moving part, every technical moment— and you prayed this powerful verse over these stress points. Does this approach make a difference?

Instead of letting your mind wander down the path of the worst-case scenario, the power of meditating on the Word of God is a freeing and liberating peace. Your mind still wanders and can spin. But, instead of spiraling down, it spins upward. There is a freeing peace that washes over you. Why? Because, if this verse is true (and it is), even when things go bad, God is still working. It reframes all of our worst moments to be teaching moments.

As a final caveat, please hear this. I believe this practice of meditating on God’s word is a powerful force against worry and anxiousness. And, I believe that this is not the only solution. So many people suffer from anxiety and depression. Medical professions, medications, and other treatments are not antithetical to this practice. It’s okay to love Jesus and have a therapist. It’s okay to love Jesus and need medication. They are not mutually exclusive.

However, I believe this powerful use of meditation and prayer is underutilized. I believe it can be a powerful help in reframing the things that keep us awake at night. As the writer of Hebrews tells us, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…”

What verse will you meditate on this week to help you fixate your eyes on Christ?