Why Worry?

For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, he did find a burglar. “Good evening,” said the man of the house. “I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She has been waiting ten years for you.”

What do you worry about?

Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 6 that we have no need to worry, but most of us, even strong believers, worry at some time or other. But if we learn anything from our Christian walk of faith, we learn that as we mature in our spiritual journey, we worry less. This idea leads me to believe that our faith, or trust, is directly proportional to our worry. So as Christians we might say that we have a faith/worry quotient. If we spend half our day worrying about things in our life, our faith/worry quotient is 50/50.

Much of what we worry about is that which we have no control over, or things we imagine might happen.

Jesus teaches us in Matthew that we can change our faith/worry quotient through the things we look at (Look at the birds. Look at the lilies.), the things we think about (being caught up in what to eat and what to wear dominates the thoughts of unbelievers!), and the things we desire (Seek first the kingdom of God . . .).

What is the difference between concern and worry? A concern would be when you say, "I'm concerned about his health." in the sense that you see that person is just not himself recently so you pray and trust God for the outcome. You don't "fret." So to take this example to its logical conclusion if you're a worrier, you might say/think things like:

“What if something happens to him? What will she do?”

“Suppose he can’t do his job anymore?”

When you are concerned about someone, you might ask if there is anything you can do to help and be available if, and when, a person asks for help, but then you leave it be, and continue to pray.

Worry takes concern beyond godly boundaries where you try to fix it or control it when it’s not yours to fix or control. And Satan will always try to pervert what God has made good.

Don’t let your concern, justify worry.

Prayer:

Father, help me to trust you with the outcome for the things that I’m worrying about right now. Help me to show concern in a godly way. In Jesus’ name and for your glory. Amen.