Worry

We are all subject to the same seeds of worry that take root deep in our minds and hearts. At some point in our lives we have all had the pleasurable task of feeling the weight and discomfort of worry pushing down on us at our most vulnerable moments. We can best understand worry as a feeling of apprehension that arrests the entire conscious mind in waves of concern over anything and everything that can go wrong. We often worry in the wake of some looming project or deadline. We often worry about potential mishaps within the family or relationships. Worry isn’t something we have the luxury of evading. It is always there, looming and lurking in the darkest corners of our psyche.

I know we’ve all had those moments where we wake up shortly before dawn for our regularly scheduled worry sessions, laying in bed as thoughts stream across our minds at a breakneck pace. These thoughts show us everything that could go wrong and at the moment, seems like they will go wrong. In reality, 90% of the things we worry about do not end up coming true. It’s strange, the other day I was attending an event, the chapel where my grandson was receiving an award. I was stunned when they chose that day to talk about worry, as I had been up around four that morning to get my worry on. For believers like myself, we content ourselves knowing that God is in control, and it’s reassuring to realize that everything He has planned for us will serve His ultimate purposes. We spend so much time wondering about how we will mitigate the damage when something goes wrong, only to have had nothing to worry about in the first place. That time could have been spent praying for peace or seeking God, who truly does not need to worry. Worry is nothing more than our awareness that we have no control and truly need no control when we surrender to God, who, does a pretty good job of managing our affairs.