What are you worried about?

---

One scroll through Facebook and you realize that we are a people who worry a lot! I have to admit, I probably fit into the category of what is traditionally known as the “worry wart.” It is something that I fight every day. For some reason, during the grey days of an Indiana winter, it gets worse.

I remembered worrying in my late 30’s if I would have a heart attack.  So, I did … I went out and had myself one … at 39! “See, I told you so!” Having the heart attack almost gave credence to my worry. It proved itself out.

But did you know that statistics show that over 96 percent of what we worry about will never come true?

Our minds can literally create such elaborate imaginings of things that will happen, contractions of various illnesses, boogie men breaking into our homes in the night … that our lives become paralyzed with fear.

When my daughter was little, she was afraid of “F & B’s.” Bless her heart, she didn’t even want to SAY the words. By the way, the words were “fires” and “burglars.” We never had a fire and we never confronted a burglar … but she was afraid of them.

Now … its Coronavirus. This is a legitimate fear for sure. This thing is deadly and spreading rapidly. Some politicians are afraid that it was a biological terror weapon gone wrong. I don’t know about that. There’s also the worry about who is going to get into office this presidential election. I’ve heard pretty convincing stories from each political side about whoever wins the election taking the entire world to hell via a handbasket. I don’t know how that would really work too well, but I can see a lot of people’s point about certain candidates. Besides my vote, there doesn’t seem to be much I can do about this, especially by worrying about it.

We worry about our children and our grandchildren. We worry about money. That’s a big one. We wonder if we will have enough money to retire someday. Will we have enough to pay our bills, our medicines, and our house payment? We concentrate on all of the things that are going wrong in our country from a sociological perspective. We linger on our thoughts about our past.  What if someone finds out about the blip on our record? Some of us worry about aging … who is that man in the mirror that sort of looks like me and sort of looks like my dad (or mom)? Getting old is scary. As my mom said, “when you are 80, you realize you don’t have that many years left!” She’s probably right. All our days are indeed numbered. I guess I always think that getting older is better than not getting older. The alternative is more frightening! There’s another fear … fear of death. Even for Christians, we know that heaven is waiting for us … but let’s admit, unless we are in really bad health, most of us are not just beating down the door to get to heaven earlier than we need to … this life is pretty nice and we want to enjoy it.

How many of you are afraid of what people might think to the point you worry about what you say, what you look like, how you might act, and how you might not fit in a particular group? We spend a lot of money to overcome some of these worries and fears, don’t we? 

As much as I love to travel, can I be honest that I even worry about flying … so maybe I should drive … no, statistics show that it is way more dangerous to drive—nearly 5 million automobile accidents to only about 20 accidents in flight (and that includes the mishaps that are usually on private small planes). So, I’ll fly … but I’m a little scared. I worry about the hydraulics of the aircraft, the aviation systems, the engines, the landing gear, the pilots being sane and of clear mind and not having too much to drink. I’m concerned that this plane is not ill-fated in any way!! And, I pray for each one of those things as I get on the plane, anoint the plane by touching the outer skin of the aircraft as I embark, and ask the Lord to send his angels to protect this flight in every way possible. Yeah, I love to travel. (I’m getting better at flying … I really am).

Do you know what worrying does to us physically? It’s really not good. According to WebMD, worrying can affect our cardiovascular system, blood pressure, sleep, appetite, job performance, lifestyle habits, relationships … can even cause us to have difficulty swallowing, can make us dizzy, have dry mouth, make our heart beat fast, give us headaches, make us fatigued, irritable, and unable to concentrate. It even affects our immune system. Now I’m worried about worrying!

I don’t mean to make light of worrying … again, I can be worry’s chief adherent. Feeling uneasy about certain things in life is simply human nature. There is though, for those who are believers, a mandate that Christ gives us about worrying. It comes from Matthew 6:25-34. Here are some verses from this text:

“I tell you … don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? … Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying? … The heavenly Father knows you need these things … But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Jesus doesn’t say that we won’t have problems. In fact, in John 16:33, he says that in this world, we will have trouble. He also says to “take heart,” for he has overcome the world. Jesus doesn’t make light of our worrying either. He knows that getting over our worry is going to be a greater task for us than reading the latest from the “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” series.

It takes trust.

My own understanding of the scriptures that deal with worry is this: worry doesn’t do us any good mentally, physically, or even spiritually … but that’s not the big deal here. The big deal is trust. Do I trust Jesus, or do I not trust Jesus? Worry robs us of our joy and peace. Jesus doesn’t want that for us. He came to give us life … abundant life! We can trust him.

I do think, oftentimes, we worry about the spiritual shortcoming of worry. I’ve even heard that worry is a “sin.” Should that be a blanket statement type of thing, I don’t know. At what level does worry go outside the boundaries of simply being appropriately concerned about something to it being sinful? I don’t know that either. Whatever, we know it isn’t right for us to worry and especially to the point of beating up on ourselves for doing it. So, what’s the way out of worry?

Jesus didn’t just say “Stop your worrying.” He said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Trust.

Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

(Philippians 4:6-7)

Trust and Pray.

The Apostle Peter said to “cast all our anxieties (cares) on him because he cares for you.”

(1 Peter 5:6-7)

Trust, Pray, and Cast Your Cares on Him.

There will be things that we will legitimately be concerned about, and, we will … worry. But we don’t have to stay in our worry. We do not have to hold on to it, as if by holding on to it we can somehow control it and make it go away. No.

The recipe for overcoming worry is to release it into the hands of the One who says, “Come to me … and I will give you rest.”