What Should I Do
With 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 than food, and the body more than clothes? Matthew 6:25 (NIV)
One day John
Wesley was walking with a troubled man who expressed his doubt as to the
goodness of God. He said, “I do not know what I shall do with all this worry
and trouble.”
At the same
moment Wesley saw a cow looking over a stone wall. “Do you know,” asked Wesley,
“why that cow is looking over the wall?”
“No,” said the
man who was worried.
Wesley said,
“The cow is looking over the wall because she cannot see through it. That is
what you must do with your wall of worry and trouble—look over it and avoid
it.”
In other words, it’s
a better explanation of what faith is all about in times of worry. True faith enables
us to look past our circumstances and focus on Christ.
Jesus teaches
that worry is sinful and that worry and faith cannot coexist in the Christian
life. Therefore, if you are worrying,
you are not walking by faith, and if you are walking by faith, then you are not
caught in the trap of worry. Worry exchanges the potential of today for the possibility
of problems tomorrow. Worry fails to trust in the promises of God and focuses
on self rather than on the Savior. Worry chooses to see the impossibilities of mankind
and forgets to believe in the God of impossibilities.
The word worry
literally means “to strangle” This definition paints a vivid picture of
what worry does in the life of any believer who allows worry to wrap hands around
the neck of their faith and squeeze. Worry is a killer. Jesus illustrates this
in Matthew 13:22: “The seed that fell
among the thorns represents those who hear God’s Word, but all too quickly the
message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so
no fruit is produced”. Worry chokes out the Word of God and leads to
unfruitfulness in the life of a Christian.
So what are we
as Christians to do? How are we to rid ourselves of worrying about our upcoming
exams, our bills to pay, our next meal, or the clothes we need? Jesus gives us
a few recommendations that are sure to drive worry away, if we adhere
steadfastly to them.
First, He
directs our attention to His past and present faithfulness. As we look to
Creation, we are sure to see all the marvelous ways He has provided for the
creatures of the earth. God has been faithful to provide food and shelter for
even the smallest sparrow, and He will do the same for you and me.
Next,
we are to seek the righteousness of Jesus above all other things. We do this in
part by aiming to keep our eyes fixed on Him, by observing the character and
nature of Jesus, and by looking at what He did and how He lived.
Worrying
paralyzes you, making you too upset to accomplish anything productive. It will
seek to do that to you by taking you mentally into tomorrow until you find
something to worry about. Refuse to go along for the ride. The Lord says you
have enough to deal with today. Apply today's resources to today's needs or you
will lose today's joy.
God
gives you strength one day at a time. He gives you what you need when you need
it and doesn't encumber you with excess baggage.
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today,
yes and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). That means He will be doing the same
thing tomorrow that He was doing yesterday. If you have any question about the
future, look at the past. Did He sustain you then? Don't worry—He will sustain
you in the future as well.
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