I once read in a book that one of the greatest enemies we may struggle with in our thought life is worry. The author suggested that by worrying about the future or anything in the present, what we are really doing is escaping from the present moment. If we worry, we will fail to enjoy the wonder and the present opportunities that are there for us. Worrying can become an ingrained habit and if we don’t recognize it as that, we will continue in this defeating cycle that will get us nowhere fast, and it will only add more stress to our lives.
Let’s talk about worry and why we might resort to it. Worry has to do with loss – we are afraid of losing something – our job, our house, our companionship with others, our ability to enjoy life, our good name, our future, and so on. In my case, I worry about making the right decisions. Should I pursue a job that pays since we need the extra income, or continue doing what I feel called to do, which is writing? Should we stay where we are in the city or consider selling and living in the resort town (again this has to do with financial drawbacks to having two places)? The things I worry about have huge consequences (career and where to live) and there are many factors involved, mainly financial. I have to pray constantly about both of these things because they so often weigh on my mind. I know that health issues are another huge concern for many people, so they worry about their health. Some people worry about their loved ones.
As to why we resort to worry, I can only come up with one major reason, unbelief. Are we just too lazy to pray and then leave it there with God? I am so thankful that God has an answer for everything, including worry. Look at what Jesus says about it:
Mat 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. KJV
There is no question -- we are to live in the present, one moment at a time, and one day at a time. And we are to enjoy each moment as it is given to us.
In thinking about my own sometimes troubling situation, I know in my heart that God has everything under control. If I am to continue to write, He will continue to give me the ideas and the inspiration to do so. If I am supposed to have a paying job, He will open that door. If we are supposed to move, the opportunity will present itself. One important thing to remember when it comes to making decisions or about any other troubling situation, is that after we have prayed about something, God gives us peace even though He may not give us a direct answer right away. If you think about it, what a phenomenal gift! No one else can give us that! Here is the promise:
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. NIV
Notice in verse 6, we are to pray with thanksgiving. So if we find ourselves worrying about something, we need to first pray, and then immediately be thankful for the many blessings God has already provided. When we begin to be thankful and also start counting our many blessings, we quickly discover that we have so much to be thankful for, that we should never give much thought to what we are lacking. Today I am so thankful that I know Jesus personally and I have instant access to His throne and all the promises in the Bible. I am thankful for my wonderful family and close friends. I am thankful for amazing technology (my computers and my blackberry) that makes my writing and connecting to others via the internet so much faster and easier. I am so thankful for my husband who loves me and loves God (and here’s a bonus – he’s a computer programmer and analyst). I am thankful for this beautiful warm and sunny day. I have good food to eat and I’m healthy! I love my community and my country. I am so crazy blessed it’s insane. Now I am no longer treading the murky waters of worry and unbelief. I have escaped and my day is filled with sunshine and hope. I am not going back there to that wasteland of worry. And you can follow this same wonderful path that I am on, and leave the big stuff in the Father’s hands. He can handle it. He always has and He always will.
Have a blessed day.
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