WORRY

I heard an interesting line in a movie recently that made a great deal of sense. "If the problem you are facing can be solved, why worry about it; solve it. If it cannot be solved, don't worry about it; accept it." All worry does is interfere with the resolution of solvable problems. For the problems we cannot solve, instead of worrying, we should take them to the One who allowed them to happen. After all, it is God who directs our circumstances, and when we face a problem which we cannot resolve, we should expect God to answer our prayer with a miracle, or accept the problem as A "thorn" (2 Cor. 12:7-10).

We are going to face disappointments, failures, trials, and tribulations in life, and our job as Christians is to glorify God by our response to them. The Apostle Paul was a man who experienced the suffering of being flogged, imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked, etc. (2 Cor. 11:23-30), and yet he had learned to be content in every circumstance, good and bad (Phil. 4:11-12). God is glorified when we praise Him for the abilities He gives us to deal with solvable problems. He also gets glory when we trust Him instead of worrying.

Jesus taught His disciples about the futility of worry. In Matthew 6:25-34, He tells them His Father knows exactly what they need, and that He will provide it. Worrying about one's physical limitations will not change them (v. 27). Worry about food, drink, and clothing is nothing more than a demonstration of ones lack of faith in God (v. 28-32). When Jesus sent His disciples out to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God, He told them not to provide for even those necessities, but to trust God to provide through the hospitality of those to whom they were sent (Lk. 9:1-6).

Abraham and his offspring continually worried about famine, and it eventually cost them four hundred years of bondage in Egypt (Gen. 15:13; Acts 7:6). Israel frequently placed their trust in their own ability or in alliances instead of in God, and they were defeated as a result (Josh. 7:2-5; Isa. 7:3-9; Hos. 7:11; Ezek. 23:5-21). Elijah, after killing four hundred fifty prophets of Baal, feared the wrath of one queen, and lost his position as the prophet of God (1 Kgs. 18:17-19:19). He worried in his circumstances, instead of trusting in Almighty God.

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is awakened by His terrified disciples because the boat they were in was in danger of sinking (Mk. 4:35-41). He responded, "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" They had looked at their situation, and because their circumstances were beyond their control, they panicked. They worried instead of trusted in God. Worry is sin, for all that is not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). They were with the One who could solve both their immediate threat of physical death, and the far more severe threat of spiritual death. Today is no different, because He is with us now (Heb. 13:5). As Alfred E. Newman used to say in Mad Magazine, "What, me worry?" Don't worry, be happy! Trust the Lord!