Today, I have  guest author, Susan Sleeman, to write a devotion for us.

SUSAN SLEEMAN is a best-selling author of inspirational romantic suspense and mystery novels. Her first romantic suspense title, High-Stakes Inheritance earned a spot on the ECPA bestseller list and her Garden Gate Mystery series, which features Nipped in the Bud, and Read Between the Tines has enjoyed time on Amazon bestseller lists as well. And The Christmas Witness was named a finalist in the 2011 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. In addition to writing, Susan hosts the popular internet website TheSuspenseZone.com.

As a SPECIAL SURPRISE, she’s givng away a FREE copy of her book, DOUBLE EXPOSURE, to one lucky reader. To enter for a chance to win, simply leave a comment and be sure to include your email address so I can notify the winner.

On with the devotion:

Matt 6: 27

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  

Worry! I’ve done it. You’ve done it. We all worry. What’s so bad about worrying anyway? Plenty. Worry takes a toll on our emotional, physical and spiritual lives.

We all know that sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs. The anxious moments when our heart pounds and our hands might tremble. Our minds are unsettled and we lack peace. Yep, that’s worry at its finest.

Through the years, I have worried with the best of them, but one day I finally realized worrying really didn’t improve my life in any way. As the bible says, worry certainly didn’t add an hour to my life. In fact, all worrying accomplishes is to tell God that we don’t trust His timing. We don’t trust Him to work things out in His way. Point blank, we don’t trust Him to know what’s best for us. He does of course and He doesn’t want us to step ahead of Him or worry about things that are out of our hands.

So why do we? Because God’s best sometimes involves pain. Even if we know pain helps us grow and mature, none of us wants to go through that pain, and we’ll do all we can to avoid it. When we see it coming or fear it’s coming, we start to worry.

So how do you stop? Stop focusing on the problem. Whenever you focus on anything, be it good, bad or indifferent, it will grow in your life and take over everything else. So when you have that feeling in the pit of your stomach, your hands start sweating, or maybe you just don’t feel peaceful, give it to God in prayer. Leave it with Him and wait with expectation for Him to solve your problem.

So what are you worrying about in your life? Can you give it up to God and let Him take control?

If you’d like to see a character deal with worry and come out the other side, be sure to pick up Dead Wrong, my November book release. Kat Justice is the master worrier and she has to come to the end of herself to let it go.

Book Blurb – Dead Wrong

A KILLER’S CLOSING IN…

When her client and old college friend is murdered, P.I. Kat Justice knows the killer will come for her next. Her survival depends on finding her unknown enemy first…and working with homicide detective Mitch Elliot, her onetime crush.

It’ll take all her professional skills to ignore the sparks between them, but Kat can’t allow the handsome cop to get close. She’s seen too many people she loves die, so she vows just to do her job without getting emotionally involved. Yet keeping her distance may not be the best way to protect her heart—or their lives.

For more info about and to read and except for Dead Wrong visit Susan’s website at about http://www.susansleeman.com/books/dead-wrong/

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a book!