When you feel worried
Worry can make your heart feel heavy. Proverbs says a kind word can make it glad, and you can trust God with the rest.
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a kind word makes it glad.
Talk about it
Anxiety is a big word for worry. Worry can feel like carrying something heavy inside you. This verse says a kind word can make a heavy heart glad again. You can give kind words, and you can ask for them too.
5Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Trust God with it
Yahweh is God's own name. You don't have to work everything out by yourself. You can tell God what worries you and trust him with it, even when you can't see how things will turn out.
What Woo does
Rock hyraxes like Woo are small, and they can't fight off big animals. So they make their homes in the rocks, where they are safe (Proverbs 30:26). When you feel worried, you can run to God by praying, and you can run to a grown-up who loves you.
Photo: rock hyrax in Damaraland, Namibia, by Charles J. Sharp (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY-SA 4.0.
.jpg){kind=link}
Try it today
Tell a grown-up one thing you are worried about. Then pray together: “God, I feel worried about this. I trust you. Please help me.”
If a worry feels too big, or someone is hurting you or scaring you, tell a grown-up you trust right away.
Ask at dinner
What kind words help you most when you feel worried?
For the grown-up
Proverbs 12:25 is honest that worry weighs a person down, and it names a small help anyone can give: a kind word. For a worried child, that word often starts with “I’m glad you told me,” before any answer. Proverbs 3:5-6 is day 3 of the 31 days, and short enough to learn together this week. Day 16: Words like honey is about kind words.
If the worry in your home is about money or work, read When grown-ups are worried: what to say to your kids, and what to keep with the adults.