What, me worry?

Last week at our “refresh” Bible study, we continued the life application series with a lesson on worrying. It’s easy to see that we live in tough times right now and a lot of folks are hurting in many different ways. During such moments of peril, the enemy likes to creep in and make us doubt ourselves (and God!) in the form of worrying about something or the other.

I will sometimes be accused of “not caring” or being too “worry free”. It’s not that my life is without its share of junk, or that I’m blind to others’ pain, it’s just that I’ve been able to deal with it better than some other people I know! (that sounds like I’m bragging, but I’m not!)

Well, simply put: worrying is not only a complete and utter waste of our time, but it can slowly but surely kill us! (you heard me!)

In fact, the origin of the word “worry” comes from the Old English wyrgan, meaning “to strangle.” The Middle English descendant, worien, further developed this sense: “to grasp by the throat with the teeth and lacerate” or “to kill or injure by biting and shaking.” You ever see a dog rough up that chew-toy? Yeah, kind of like that…

This is what worrying does… it squeezes the life out of us! We often walk around with the enemy’s hands around our necks and our dumb selves think it’s just our normal, everyday way of breathing!

But in Luke 12:25, Jesus says,

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

If it doesn’t add any time to our life, then what else would it do? Stress has been shown to worsen our health and take days (if not years!) off our life-span. Stress is the bodily reaction to such trauma.

Fear, doubt, worry… it’s all found in the same box that is opened from time to time when we haven’t framed our troubles properly. Worrying is a natural instinct that needs a supernatural response!

So what is it?

1 Peter 5:7 tells us:

“Cast your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you!”

This means to pray about it! Release it! Let it go! Don’t hold it in, ignore it, or worry about it. God will help you deal with your troubles! Yes, He loves you that much!

So what will happen when we pray about it?

Philippians 4:6-7…

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.”

Guess what? We’ll have God’s peace (a lasting peace that is stronger than any form found on this earth!) and the whispers of fear muted if we just trust in Him!

You see, worrying is essentially saying you don’t trust God and you have to somehow do this yourself (if it can be done at all). That’s a lot of weight on your shoulders! Over time, that weight weakens your body (not to mention your mind and spirit) and we find ourselves on the ground from exhaustion!

So how about trying this for a change: have God carry the weight for you! Tell him how heavy it is! Let him know that it’s important and time is of the essence! (He knows this stuff already, but He likes hearing it from you!)

When we get into a lifelong practice of this, we become happier, stronger, and free from the burdens that the enemy tries to trap us in! The enemy doesn’t want us to live a life like that! (in fact, just the opposite!)

Thank God for giving us a better way!