“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“
Philippians 4:6-8
Have you ever been invited to a special event or asked to join a team you knew you didn’t have time for, but you said yes anyway? What about finding an item on-sale that you may not truly need, but it is for a limited time and you can’t pass it up? This is called FOMO- “Fear of missing out.” FOMO is a real struggle and can take over our schedule and even our life! The result? We make poor choices with our time, money, and friendships.
What does that practically look like? For example, we may let our kids participate in an activity (or too many activities) so they don’t “miss out” on becoming the next best fill-in-the-blank. We want our company or ministry to get bigger and better, so we say yes to opportunities we shouldn’t. If we don’t push it in the gym, we will miss our next goal. Our brains tell us if we say “no” to someone, they will never ask us again so we better say “yes.”
The enemy will use this fear of missing out to monopolize our time and our heart. He tempts us to say yes, then when we cannot accomplish all we said yes to, he convinces us we are failures and not worth anything. Satan is so crafty! Today we take back control of our own commitments and stop listening to the lies of the enemy.
Let’s Pray:
1.) The center of FOMO is a distrust that God can give you what you need at the perfect time. If you say no, He can bring that opportunity back to you when the time is better. Pray and ask yourself why you don’t trust God with the areas that cause fear in you.
2.) How is your FOMO causing you to keep unhealthy boundaries with your family, friends, and in your work place?
3.) We can put our FOMO onto others, especially our kids. How is your fear of missing out affecting the boundaries you set for them? Do you let them have cell phones too early so they can “fit in” with others? What about the clothes they wear, the shows they watch, etc?
If you aren’t a parent, do you expect others to do everything you ask because you never say no to them?
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