I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them have never happened.
– Mark Twain
The headline read, “Thousands of snow geese fall dead from sky in Idaho.”
According to the report on msn.com, at least two thousand migrating geese were recently found dead in eastern Idaho. A Department of Fish and Game spokesperson said avian cholera was suspected because the geese “just fell out of the sky.” My daughter back east passed along the article to me because I live in Idaho and have been neglecting to watch the skies for incoming geese. Although I’m a world-class worrier, it never occurred to me to worry about having a dead goose fall on me.
I worry about plenty of other stuff, though.
It’s easy to weave worry into the fabric of our thought life. It becomes such a conditioned response to trial, or the possibility of a trial, even our prayers become more like worry directed heavenward than actual communication with God.
I start off with good intentions, though. I begin to pray in good faith for a situation. But before I know it, I’ve become distracted and wind up just thinking about my problems.
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.
– Corrie Ten Boom
Worrying takes a lot of energy.
Fear of tomorrow robs us of the joy of now. It’s living a thousand deaths as we play out endless terrors in our minds. Most of the things we fear never happen, but we have suffered at their hands just as surely.
Imagine how our lives would change if we spent as much mental energy in appreciating God’s goodness as we do in anticipating evil.
“And which of you by worrying can add an hour to his life?” –Luke 12:25 (NET Bible)
We can’t change our situations by worrying about them. It’s not only a useless exercise, but also a faithless one. God doesn’t want us groveling in the dark pit of our fears. He wants us to trust Him with our tomorrows. His love clothes our existence in the golden hope of everlasting life, starting right now. When trouble does come, we will have only lived it once. But most of it will never come. It’s better by far to rob worry of its power, than to give it power over us.
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
– Matthew 6:34
Leave a Reply