“Days . . are made evil by anxious thoughts and forebodings.” Proverbs 15:15 Amplified Bible
“Worry doesn’t work; why waste your time and energy trying it?”
My thoughts today are that “worry is wearying.”
Worrying is wearying. It adds nothing of value to you, and depletes from you so much that is good and healthful. Admittedly, there are plenty of things to worry about if you choose to do so. There are also many good reasons to not worry, if you choose to do that. Anxious thoughts are the product of majoring on matters you do not control, and cannot change. At the root of worry is the issue of control and your discomfort accepting that. Until you come to peace with the knowledge that only God is in control, and that He can be trusted to care for the things that concern you, you will be vulnerable to worry and the anxiety that results. Let me suggest some practical things about worry.
Worry is unhelpful because it doesn’t work. Worry is working too hard at something that does not work. Worry has never solved a problem, nor changed a circumstance. It does not change the past, and it will not allow you to control the future. Why waste time doing something that never gives you anything useful, but every time robs you of peace and confidence? I agree with a clever definition of insanity as, “doing the same thing again and again, each time expecting a different result.” Worry can be a mental, emotional, and spiritual “insanity” of sorts.
Worry is unreasonable because it exaggerates problems. Worry is never in proportion to reality. It takes a real, but minor, concern and makes it major. The more that you mentally dwell on your worries, the bigger the problem appears, the more your emotions are exaggerated, and the more desperate you feel; yet nothing productive has been achieved. Worrying about something you cannot change is useless. Worrying about something you can change is stupid – just change it. Either way, don’t worry! Why waste emotional energy better used elsewhere?
Worry is unhealthy because it affects you physically. It’s not healthy, causing ulcers, tension headaches, stomach distress, and insomnia while you continually worry without relief. It makes you unhealthy and unhappy. The root of the word is “to strangle, to choke.” That well describes what results. Life and its joy are seriously diminished by anxiety.
Worry is unnecessary, because you have a Father who cares for you. Consider this: “No good thing will God withhold from those that walk uprightly before Him . . Therefore, do not worry . . your Father knows that you need all these things.” Psalm 84:11/Matthew 6:31-32.
Have you heard of the Serenity Prayer? “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things that I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” (Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian) Accept, or change. Worry is not a viable option.
My prayer for you today is that your days are carefree, fruitful and fulfilling.