Do Not Worry

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.”  Matthew 6:33, 34 (NKJV)

In one of my older Bibles, I found written next to our focus text for today the words “Do not worry.”  I’m sure that I needed to hear the message for that day and wrote the words to remind me not to worry about anything.

Perhaps  you don’t worry, but I do,  even when I don’t have any reason to.  Someone who worries like this is called a “worry wart.”  I don’t remember using the term  to describe myself.  I  looked up its   etymology and found that the phrase originated from an old wives tale,  which says that if you  touch a frog or a toad,  you’ll get warts. Well, some frogs and toads are  known to be poisonous to the touch, but they don’t cause warts. Worrying about something like that, makes you  a worry wart, someone who worries unnecessarily.

I remember a worrisome time  during my senior year in college. Our  Victorian Lit  professor  announced that the test we were taking that day would determine our final grade. Wanting  to keep my  A,  I began to worry to the extent that I stayed up all that night  reading and worrying. I just kept worrying and  reading  a lot of stories and poems  that had nothing to do with the course. When I later  mentioned to the professor what I had done, he casually dismissed my worrying by asking me why.  I received my desired grade. My action  seems foolish to me now, but at that time I had taken  refuge in worrying.

In my  mature years, I’ve learned not to worry; just  leave every care to God.  I think that  the many times when  He says in His Word “Fear not,” He is  really telling us not to worry. And why should we worry? No matter how dire a situation becomes, worrying won’t solve it. Talking things over with God and relying on His help will take care of the matter. Even if the problem isn’t solved to our satisfaction,  just  having Him to talk it over with makes all the difference.

Sometimes we create What-if scenarios and worry about them, but  worry is not only harmful to our physical health, it impacts  our spiritual health as well. When we worry, we show a  lack of reliance on the One  who says, “Come to me and I will give you rest” ( Matthew 11:28).  We get healthful rest from our anxieties and spiritual calm for our souls.

In a world of mounting calamities, confusion, and fear, let’s do what Jesus says: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” When we do this,  whatever  comes our way,  He is able to  handle it. So don’t worry.

Always,

Judith

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“Worrying is carrying  tomorrow’s 
load with today’s strength.”
Corrie Ten Boom