Do Not Worry

Chuckle: Worry is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere.

Ponder this: Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday and Tomorrow is the day you should not worry about today.

"Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for what he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6 NLT).

It certainly is easy to find things to worry about these days. The economy, health issues, crime, terrorism, etc., provide us plenty of fodder to feed our worry- prone minds. But, as Christians, we need to understand that God's Word tells us not to worry and that worry is the antithesis of faith. Faith is trusting God in all things and worry indicates a lack of trust and dependence upon Him.

So, to worry indicates a deficiency in our faith. It indicates that you believe you should have the ability to fix things in your own strength. But when you realize that you can't, the temptation is to just continue worrying and fretting about it. There is a difference between genuine concern and worry. Being concerned about something will mobilize you to take some form of positive action; but worry tends to immobilize you and prevent worthwhile actions.

If you are a chronic worrier, I'm sure you have been amazed by how often many of the "terrible" things you dream up to worry about never come to pass, or are much less severe than you imagined. Because there are so many ruinous effects of worry, Jesus, Himself, said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. . Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life. . . Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matthew 6:25, 27, 34 NIV).

John Wesley, the eighteenth century Anglican preacher, theologian, and founder of the Methodist movement, had this to say about worry. "I could no more worry than I could curse or swear." Oh that each of us Christians could say this about ourselves. But instead many of us continue to suffer the debilitating consequences of worry and anxiety. These may include: (1) damaging your health due to stress, (2) reducing your productivity, (3) negatively affecting the way you treat others, and, ultimately, (4) reducing your ability to trust in God and His promises.

A great goal for the new year would be, with God's help, to reduce then finally eliminate worry from your mind. Just think about the happiness and peace you could experience if worry was no longer a dominant factor in your life.

Love, Jerry & Dotse