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by Ron Strickland, Major –
Spelled backwards the question is: “Who, me worry”? That’s the question of today, especially as we face a declining stock market and an unstable economy, leading to the loss of jobs and retirement funds for many people.
So, what is this thing that we call worry that plagues us in these troubling times? How would you define worry? Well, the best definition that I have ever heard for the definition of worry is, “Worry is the state of being at war with oneself”! There is no doubt that every one of us has the capacity to carry on his or her own individual war. Therefore, if worry is being at war with oneself, what do we worry about? The answer comes from Dr. Samuel Kraines, who did a study on worry, suggesting three categories into which worries fall:
Disturbing situations for which one must find a solution.
Disturbing situations over which one has no control.
Unimportant, insignificant, minor problems of everyday life that warrant little attention.
But another study has revealed that:
40 percent of what people worry about never happens.
30 percent of people’s worries concern things of the past.
12 percent of our worries about health are needless.
10 percent of our worries are designated as “petty,” miscellaneous matters not worth worrying about.
That leaves 8 percent for real, legitimate worry.
An important question that remains about worry would be: “Is worrying a sin?”
I believe Oswald Chambers helps us to answer this question when he said that all of our fret and worry are caused by “calculating without God.” Worrying implies the absence of trust. Therefore, since God’s word gives direct answers to the problem of worry and actually tells us not to worry, this lack of trust in God is certainly a sin.
But how does the Christian combat the plague of worry? We only have to read Matthew 6:25-34 to get the answer that Jesus gives and that is do not worry! Verse 34 says, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
In his letter to the young churches, J.B. Phillips renders Philippians 4:6-7 as follows:
Don’t worry whatsoever; tell God every detail
of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer,
and the peace of God, which transcends human
understanding, will keep constant guard over
your heart and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.
What a wonderful and powerful promise God has given us. I have never heard a more compelling antidote for worry than Philippians 4:6-7! The prayer chorus that we often sing further solidifies it:
All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy seat, leave it there.
Never a burden he cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.
Who, me worry? Not a chance when I lay hold and claim the promises of God! You, too, can be worry free!
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