What? Me Worry?

“Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but IN everything by prayer and supplication (humble petition) with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6-7

According to my 1966 College Edition of Webster’s Dictionary, the first definition for the term “worry” was not what I expected.  It stated that worry is “to harass or treat roughly with or as with continual biting or tearing with the teeth: as, the dog was ‘worrying’ an old shoe”.  It is not until the third definition that worry is defined as to “feel troubled, uneasy, anxious, or distressed”.  However, upon thinking about it, worry is like a gnawing away at our sense of peace and comfort like that old dog gnaws on a bone.

American’s most time consuming and least productive endeavor is worry.  How many times does someone tell you not to worry and you say, “O.K.”, then proceed to continue your anxious thoughts and what ifs?  We claim that we trust God and have turned over our fears and concerns to Him, but then continue to fret.  I think most folks caught in this dilemma believe that God is in control and will take care of the situation, but they are fearful that God will not answer in the way they desire, hence they keep on worrying.  We want to know when, from where, and how the solution will come.  Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do.  We are so used to instant everything that waiting only intensifies the worry.  Truly casting our worries upon God means allowing Him to work things out as He will, not as we will.

In Matthew 6:34, Jesus said for us not to worry about tomorrow for it will have its own difficulties.  God gives us the grace that we need for each day in order to deal with the problems and situations that we face today, not tomorrow.  The grace that we need tomorrow will be there as we need it.  As the old gospel song says, “There is grace for every need.”  Worry is a big waste of time.  We worry about things that, most of the time, never happen.  It’s not only time we waste worrying, but worry can cause us to miss out on joys, opportunities, and blessings when we constantly focus on the negative.  And, as has been my experience, all worry is negative.  I’ve never heard of anyone being concerned that something good was about to happen.

Once we truly recognize the sovereignty of God, that He has our best interest at heart, and then turn our cares over to Him completely, we can experience the peace of God which is over and above our comprehension.  I believe that everything happens for a reason.  For those who love God and live according to His purpose, it is comforting to know that nothing happens to us unless it is first filtered through the fingers of a loving and powerful God.  A good exercise when burdened with worry is to look back at how God came through in previous situations in our lives which gives us assurance that He will never leave us or forsake us.  He is only a prayer away.  No worries mate.