“How am I going to do this?”

The thought rang through my mind as I stood washing dishes alone late at night. My husband was out of town, my kid was super sick, and I had a full plate at work. I was overwhelmed and immediately my thoughts when to the “what ifs.”

“What if my son gets super sick in the middle of the night?” “What if I can’t go to work tomorrow? I’m already so behind!” “What if I have to take him to the ER?”

Suddenly, my mind remembered something I had heard Christian artist, Baylor Wilson say on social media. Baylor decided to break up with worry by doing a worry fast. People fast from all kind of things for lent and it is typically a spiritual practiced that involves forgoing eating, but I had never heard of fasting from worry before. I immediately wondered what that would feel like. How would I even begin to stop the racing thoughts of worry in my life that often lead to anxiety?

So I called Baylor up and got her take on it! Baylor said her mindset shift happened after hearing this definition of worry.

“You cannot truly worship God while you worry because to worry is to trust in yourself.”

You can hear the whole conversation here, but what struck me the most is how Baylor declared this to be one of the most life-changing weeks of her life! She said the peace she has experienced from fighting to rid her life of worry has been a game changer!

Here are the 5 steps she is taking to fast from worry:

1. Start with 5 days.

We often jump all in on something new and then the slightest failure turns to discouragement. Start small and put the focus on fasting from worry for 5 days. Go easy on yourself since this habit is ingrained in our lives.

2. Find someone to do this with you.

Baylor is doing this with her husband and each time he hears her conversation turn to worry, he kindly reminds her of the worry fast. It can be frustrating, but she shared that the frustration is slowly turn into overwhelming peace for her! (If you need someone to do this with you reach out to me on Instagram)

3. Write down what you are worried about, put it away, and do not look at it during the fast.

Get those worries out of your head and out of your life. Pray and give those worries to God as you write them down. This is an inventory of what is taking up space in your heart and mind with worry. When it’s down on paper in black and white it may also show you how far fetched some of these

4. Read the Bible Daily.

Let your mind be renewed by the word of God. Get the truth in as we get the worry out! A worry fast is a beautiful start to control our thoughts.

^“We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

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5. When worry comes replace it with worship.

We can fight the battle of worry with worship! It doesn’t have to be through music, but that often helps me. Take the thing you are worrying about and surrender it to God through prayer. Then thank God for what He HAS done in your life and for what is true right now! I love to blast Baylor Wilson’s song “Jesus Happened” and sing along! Gratitude is so powerful. We can fighting anxiety, negativity, and worry through simply listing out the good that God has already done in our lives.

Listen to Joy & Baylor Talk Through How to Give Up Worry