don’t sweat the small stuff

Written: January 5, 2023

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” my Dad used to tell me. As an over thinker with an anxious and  literal mind, it was hard to differentiate between the “small” and “big” stuff - but categorizing the cares and worries of life into big and small “stuff” WAS NOT the point 😂 DUH 🙄

The Point was to learn how to navigate life without being consumed by the worries and cares of life because, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

👉🏾 Answer: NO. So stop worrying and stressing.

HOW? 👉🏾 By “casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

AND 👉🏾 When you pray “… if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Okay, you’ve done that and you’re still a little worried, now what?

👉🏾NOW be sure to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

‭‭2 Corinthians 10‬:‭5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

WHY?  because 9 times out of 10 in my personal experience I would cast / lay down / pray / commit my worries, stress, fear, insecurities, concerns, anxiety, etc.

🗣️VERBALLY ‼️to God  in prayer but 👉🏾 NOT👈🏾 💭MENTALLY 🤔 to God in prayer

So to combat that, I / YOU / WE MUST take OUR Thoughts Captive before the Thoughts take US Captive 🔗🔒

🌻🌻easier said than done some days, right? But we MUST and I know it takes

daily conscious effort

👉🏾 “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When I don’t take my thoughts captive, my thoughts overwhelm and paralyze me with worry, fear and anxiety causing me to

1. either panic or withdraw

[ sometimes panic inwardly or in private and withdraw outwardly or in public … I’ll share more on this from a different perspective at a later time ]

2. without fail my body has a physiological response [ such as hives, headache, twitching eyes, aches, fatigue, can’t sleep, lose my appetite, have stomach cramps ]

3.  lose all hope in everything literally - - depression shows up sometimes [ for more than one reason not discussed in this post ]

… just speaking from experience👆🏾

… that’s why it’s important to remember👇🏾

🌻“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

🌻 “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬

🌻“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

🌻 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬

… I Hope This Helps 🌻💛

Godspeed 🙏🏾

SimplyAriRenee