firmly rooted and built up in Him and confirmed in your faith, just as you were instructed, overflowing with gratitude.
Colossians 2: 7
Most of the things that concern us never materialize. This makes the history of the concern very unreliable. Worries take and demand, without good reasons. Almost all the energy they demand is wasted on themselves. It becomes a carousel of worry.
However, exchanging concern for gratitude allows us to observe God's record. And what we see creates a marked contrast. Even in suffering, we discover that God's trustworthiness is unblemished and constant. Thanksgiving helps us to look back with gratitude, with a heart full of wonder at what God has done in our lives, even when worry convinced us otherwise. Gratitude keeps us in tune with the positive things of what He is doing now, instead of feeling defeated or deviating and coming to believe the worst. Gratitude does not ignore the pain of reality. Prevent worry from interpreting life through a defective lens.
DEEPEN
Read 1 Thessalonians 5: 15-19. What should we do instead of returning evil for evil, according to verse 15? According to these verses, what is God's will for your life? What would happen to your concerns if you put into practice what verses 16-18 say: "always [...] without ceasing [...] and in everything"?