Worry

Do Not Worry

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

Somebody did a study on what the average person worries about. They found that 40% of what people worry about never happens, 30% has already happened and they can’t do anything about it, 12% is what others say about you that is, most of the time, untrue; and finally 10% deals with health, and worrying will only make that worse. That leaves 8% for the things that are considered to be real problems, and worry doesn’t help with those either.

Worry is like a rocking chair, “it will give you something to do, but gets you nowhere.” It is also like a disease “it infects everyone yet no one seeks a cure.” Worry is a sin dangerous enough to ruin my physical and spiritual vitality and drain my life of hope and joy; and generates the kind of peace-robbing emotional spirit that weakens and tires me. Yet, knowing that, I still worry. . . a lot! Here are five ways to win the war over worry:

Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

I trust God in the big decisions, where should I live or work, my children, my mate, but do I trust God in the small stuff? What shall I wear or eat today? He loves me and wants to be involved in my life, just as I am involved in my children’s or friends’ lives. I need to Trust in him with ALL my heart.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6. Do not be anxious or worried or fret about anything. That’s a command. Do not be doesn’t leave a question in my mind. I am not to worry, fret or be anxious about one thing. How many times, when there’s an important appointment in the morning, do I set the alarm, but can’t sleep because I’m afraid it won’t go off? And how about arriving 3 hours early for a plane? That’s not going to make that plane take off one minute earlier.

“But in everything,” again, that leaves nothing out, “by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” When I’ve lost something, I should start out by thanking God for what I have left. Do I have loved ones? Do I have clothes and shelter, or food for the next meal? Do I still have all the important parts of my body?

Dr. Alexander Kidd, was a great clergyman who lived in Aberdeen. He was well known to theologians and pastors. One day, he got very angry and upset and said the wrong words as he left a gathering of his closest Christian colleagues. Dr. Kidd was feeling very guilty and said “Tell me why can I handle the big trials, but it’s the little ones, the petty annoyances that irate me and I say things that would embarrass my Lord, Jesus Christ? Why can I handle the big things and not the little ones?”
One of his colleagues answered, “Good brother, Dr. Kidd, I know the answer. You take the big ones to God, completely, and you trust Him. But with the little ones, you don’t bother him. You think you can handle them yourself.”

Dr. Kidd said, “Aye, aye, the true cause, I do believe. I have to learn to take the little things, as well as the big ones, to God.”

Don’t worry because I have taken everything to God in prayer and trust that he will take care of it.

Do Good

One of the signs that I’m not trusting God is that I drop out of my usual activities. Then I get down. I say, “I lost my job!” Well, what am I doing about it? “Well, I’m just sitting around the house!” Well, quit it! Get out there and do something trusting God to provide! Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Besides, helping others takes my mind off my troubles.

Delight Myself in the Lord

What a wonderful word, delight. It means a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment, joy, rapture, something that gives great pleasure, satisfaction, please highly, to have great pleasure or take pleasure. The Psalms state that God delights in me. Psalm 147:11 “The Lord DELIGHTS in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Psalm 37:23 “If the Lord DELIGHTS in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm.” Psalm 22:8 “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

He enjoys me, he waits patiently for me to acknowledge him, and include him. I picture him in the same state as a child who is sitting on the top step waiting to be called to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. His eyes are bright, there’s a smile on his face and he’s waiting in eager anticipation for me to call out to him. I should have the same feeling towards him, and when I am full of delight and joy, there is no room for worry.

Commit My Way to the Lord

Commit means literally “to roll”. It means to roll my burden on the Lord. Whatever that burden is, I am to give it to God. His shoulders are broad enough. Matthew 11:30 “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” As I have gone through tough times, divorce, losing my job, not feeling well, Satan tries his tricks on me. He sends discouragement, disappointment, worry, maybe even anger. As I’ve matured I’ve learned to see that it is Satan warring against my spirit. I consciously make a choice not to listen to him, because if I do, he wins. I learned a long time ago that Satan is like a very ardent suitor. He tells me what I want to hear, does things with me I like to do, asking only that I follow him. But, as soon as I do, he’s gone. He’s won my hand, so he drops me like a hot potato, leaving me to fend for myself.

As soon as little sniggles of worry come into my mind, I turn them immediately over to God. Every morning, I give myself and my day to God, knowing that he wants only what’s best for me and that together he and I can face anything. He tells me he loves me and, having struggled with feelings of unloveability, I cling to that and know that he’s really there for me, so I must be there for him. There’s an old hymn that says “I can’t even walk without holding your hand”, and that’s the way I feel. If I’m not holding on to his precious, loving hand, I’m laying face down in the dirt.

Rest in the Lord

Such a lovely picture. Jesus, sitting with his arms open wide beckoning me to crawl up in his lap and lay my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me and says, “shhhhh.” There is no business, no interruptions, only soul to soul communication from me to my brother, my savior. Psalm 23 says he restores my soul. Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Proverbs 19:23 “The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble.” Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Content, untouched by trouble. Can’t we all use some of that kind of rest?
The more I trust, the less I worry. Rather than worry all night, wouldn’t it be smarter to pray half the night and then sleep comfortably till morning? God’s going to be up anyway.

Replacing worry with trust gives me the ability to enjoy and appreciate my life.

Replacing worry with trust permits me to work hard and leave the results to God.

Replacing worry with trust helps me relax and truly value my friends and family.

Replacing worry with trust strengthens my faith in the God who always loves me.

Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its trouble, it empties today of its strength.

Trust in the Lord, do good, delight in the Lord, commit my way to the Lord, and rest in the Lord. A little bit of prayer sure beats a lot of worry.