I heard a friend say recently, "Worrying works! 93% of the things I worried about never happened!"

There is some real truth in that statement. However, it is also true we have many things that concern us, that are a legitimate source of worry. For those concerns we have very clear instructions as well.

The Scriptures say, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

There are many things we should not worry about. For truly worrisome things though, we should exchange our worry for a peace that comes from the Lord. Notice that the exchange follows a few basic instructions. First pray about it. Don't just spin your worry in your head or talk to others but bring it before the Lord in prayer. Share with him your concerns, even your needs. Make sure that you thank him for all he has done. Remind yourself that he is good and good to you. Make your prayer request based on his goodness and holiness. As we thank him and praise him, we position ourselves with the proper heart attitude to receive his help.

If we have genuinely prayed, thanking the Lord for what he has done and who he is, and bring our concerns before him, we must then allow him to exchange his peace for our worry. If we choose to hang on to our worry, the exchange cannot happen. We don't have to understand the peace. In fact, the Scripture says it is beyond our understanding. We need simply to allow the Lord to make the exchange with us.

Enjoy the peace of the Lord!