“Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Worry steals joy and peace from its victims. Our Designer knew when we left the factory that worry is destructive. Jesus addressed the topic a couple of millennia ago:

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Matthew 6:25-27

Worries certainly cannot add a moment to your life. Jesus continues in the same message:

So don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:31-34

Our Designer knew something else. Most of what we consume ourselves with never happens or is not worth getting agitated about. Again, modern research comes along to verify ancient wisdom.

A Cornell University research study examined how many times an imagined calamity actually came to pass. In this study, subjects were asked to write down their worries over an extended period of time, and then identify which of their imagined misfortunes did not actually happen. The results were remarkable—85 percent of what subjects worried about never happened! Slow down and digest that. Eighty-five percent of what we work ourselves into varied states of frenzy about never even happens. And here is what is more remarkable. For the 15 percent of the worry agenda that did happen, nearly 80 percent of the respondents reported they were able to deal with the concern better than expected or they learned a valuable lesson from the event. So 97 percent of what the majority of this study group worried about was not worth wasting the energy, faith, and time on.

Today’s grace suggestion is not easy, but it could be an important step forward. Living in fear of the future cheats you out of today. A precious moment tugs on your heart like a child at your sleeve. Too often you stub your toe on that sacred moment while concerning yourself with something that won’t happen or will happen in a way that your worry cannot change. That is exactly where the enemy wants to keep you and me as children of God, with our eyes on worry and not on God.

Trusting Jesus for tomorrow, next week, next year, and forever frees us to see what this moment holds. Poet Maya Angelou said, “We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.”

Indeed.

The inevitable is, well, inevitable. No amount of worry will change the fact that we will face sadness, adversity, and death, a huge challenge for most of us. I have seen how worry consumes those I love. My ever-
worrying dad used to remark that I was not a worrier. I would respond with a smile on my face. “I know you’re on that job, Dad, so I don’t need to duplicate your efforts.”

If I do struggle with worry, I remember that my heavenly Father is on the job, not as a worrier, but calling me to know Him, trust Him, and rest in Him. I can safely give my worries to God. If I can remind myself when worry prevails that God is for me and that He loves me, then I can trust Him with tomorrow and beyond.

Excerpted from Waking Up Slowly