A prayer for when the world makes you anxious, written by Kelly Ballery and read by Kelly

Givens.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable.

If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things, Philippians 4-8.

I watch the evening news, and I'm convinced they should no longer call it evening news.

Instead, they should call it the anxiety hour.

Do you watch it too?

Do you feel it crawl all over you?

You see the tears, you see the evil, you see the injustice,

the pain, the prognosis, you see no answers, you feel helpless.

If you could do something to change anything, you would, but you feel small, unable.

You assure yourself even your loudest call would ring hollow and uncared for in this

echo chamber called the world.

There is an undercurrent of fear.

The tensions under the surface of forced calmness are like riptides, they are rising.

We all see them, we want to turn away, pretend, run, hide, shiver, shake.

Yet, is this what Jesus calls us to?

Self-preservation and dread, worry and anxiety?

Like we consider, the news is not evil, but how our hearts distrust God easily could be.

If we fill our mind with the grim, we can hardly keep our mind set on him.

We can't see if we are blinded by the anger that boils over in our heart.

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