(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Knocking ‘Miss Worry’ Off Her Platform

By Tori Martin

THAT interview with Harry and Megan, the “Friends” reunion, the England football team finally getting through to the finals, the Bernie Sanders wearing mittens meme, and the much-welcomed return of the cozy and cute cardigan have all been just some of the biggest events to take place so far in 2021 pop culture. But one trend that appears to be very evident of being experienced by the masses is, Miss Worry. You know who she is… She is the one that keeps you up all night, makes you act all crazy, and can paralyze you with fear.

But why has Miss Worry become such a popular and disturbing idol we all appear to be worshiping and following right now? To be honest, Miss Worry has always been around and always been rather popular, but since the recent pandemic, she has hit a new heightened level of fame. Her fans are everywhere. Since Covid-19, Miss Worry has impacted our mental health and wellbeing dramatically. A new study published in “The Lancet” has estimated that anxiety has increased by a whopping 26% globally.

The trend of Miss Worry is worldwide. Let me share with you a quick story from my recent holiday where I got to experience this pandemic phenomenon. Allow me to set the scene – a cozy and confined hotel restaurant around 8.30 am. Me, sitting at my table all content and happy whilst tucking into a fresh cooked English breakfast when all of a sudden the man directly behind me starts coughing violently and rapidly for what felt like forever. My initial thoughts? COVID! This guy has COVID! I became tense. And it became very apparent that I wasn’t the only one with these immediate fearful thoughts inspired by Miss Worry’s domination. An uncomfortable sense of fear and panic hit the small hotel restaurant. One table of people got up and asked to have room service instead. Another table started shifting their chairs in a way that made them as far away as possible from said coughing guy. Even the waitress who had been a constant appearance in the restaurant had suddenly made a sharp exit to somewhere behind the scenes! The poor coughing guy knew exactly the effect he was having amongst us so decided to turn around to face the majority of the room and openly declare that he experiences this cough every single morning due to him smoking for many, many years. It was a smoker’s cough. But despite the man’s very best attempt to reassure us all that he didn’t have “you know what,” his efforts were completed wasted. Miss Worry was being worshipped up in there.

And just like the #FreeBritneymovement, we need to take action against Miss Worry. We need to kick start #faithoverfearmovement. Worrying is saying, “God I don’t trust you care about me or my situation.” A statement that is hard to swallow, but if we pause for a moment and think about it – worrying is not worshipping God. Worrying is worshipping the problem. We need to worship God instead of Miss Worry. Worshipping God isn’t just about raising your hands and singing songs of praise. Worshipping, in fact, is agreeing with God and His word. So, if Philippians 4:6-7 (AMP) tells us, “do not be anxious or worried about anything” then it means, when we worry, we are kinda disobeying God. Philippians 4:6 continues, “…but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your requests known to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding stands guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (AMP).

When you find yourself idolizing Miss Worry – no matter what the worry – pause. Take a deep breath and tell yourself (yes I am permitting you to talk to yourself), “I’m not fully trusting God in this situation right now, I need to not lean on my insight or understanding, I need to lean in on my God who I KNOW loves and cares for me and promises me that He is with me. I choose today to trust God.” Then ask Him to fill you with His peace which stands guard over your heart and mind and ask the Holy Spirit to direct your thoughts to His truth. God’s got us, we do not need to worry! Let’s make Trusting God the biggest trend of 2021 and knock ‘Miss Worry’ off her platform!

“In You, Lord, I have put my trust; I will not be afraid”

– Psalm 56:11