Why Worry?

Many times in the Bible we are admonished to not worry. Since that’s the case, then worry is a choice. When we worry, we allow our minds to dwell on difficulty or troubles. The difference between worry and concern is where you place God in relationship to your trouble. Worry takes God out of the equation and only focuses on the problem. When we have a genuine concern, we should take it to the Lord, listen for His guidance, and focus on Him. Philippians 4:6 reminds us not to worry about anything, but instead pray about everything.

A little girl was overheard speaking to her mom and said, “Did you know that worry is pretending?” Her mom asked her to explain and she responded, “if we belong to Jesus we have nothing to worry about.” She continued, “The devil is loud and yells at us to worry, but God is quiet so we have to be still and listen because He whispers.” The best part of her declaration is when she made a point to say, “God whispers.” What a beautiful visual showing how close He is. This fact alone should chase our anxious thoughts away.

If we choose to worry, we are rehearsing tragedy. Mark Twain said it best when he stated, “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” This harmful behavior opens the door for anxiety and stress to enter. If left unchecked, worry will steal our health and our happiness.

Proverbs 17:22 states, “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bone.” Worry can make us sick. Medical research estimates that as much as 90 percent of illness and disease is due to stress. We were never created to worry but to trust. We honor God when we trust Him and believe that He can handle anything that comes our way.

Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow because each day has enough trouble of its own (see Matthew 6:34). If there is something we can do to fix a problem, then we should do it—our concern should motivate us to action. If there is nothing we can do, then it's useless to worry about things out of our control.

Today, make a choice to trust God by refusing to worry.

PRAY:
Dear Jesus, thank you that I can give all my worries to You because You care for me. Help me to focus on You and not my fears.

REFLECT:
What are you focusing on today? If you keep your mind fixed on God, He will replace your anxious thoughts with perfect peace.