No need to worry
It was nothing but a pile of debris in a farmer’s field, but in the misty, fading light, it looked like a monster. The piles of tires and other debris gave the appearance of an undulating back, and an old piece of pipe with a curved end looked like a neck and head. It made me think of the Loch Ness Monster cruising through the mists.
Of course, I’ve never seen the Loch Ness Monster, and to be honest, I have no idea whether Nessie or similar monsters exist or not. I’ve seen enough sketches and artist impressions to have an idea of what she might be like if she’s real, and that’s what the dump “sculpture” looked like to me.
Even if Nessie is real, the one I saw in the middle of the farmer’s field wasn’t. There was nothing to fear from it, except, perhaps, the results of an overactive imagination.
Overwrought imaginations are often the source of many of our fears and stress. We like to call it worrying. There are certainly times and places for concern, but many people have worrying down to a fine art. In their minds, they can conceive every possible thing that might go wrong, and they worry about it. They worry about the mythical monsters in the mist.
What if it happens? What if it doesn’t happen? What if he or what if she or worse yet what if they?
Years ago, I read a comment by a worrier who wrote, “I must be good at worrying because 99% of what I worry about never happens.” That’s somewhat tongue in cheek but contains a pretty big kernel of truth.
Jesus had some words for worriers.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:25-34
A one-sentence summary of his comments might be, “Lighten up and trust God!”
Excessive worry is a sin. It betrays a lack of trust in God’s ability to handle the situation.
If you find yourself in that place of constant worry, confess it to Him and ask for His help. The more you surrender to Him, the less you have to worry about it.
Be blessed,
Kevin
