Why Worry?
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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"Don't worry about your life
Cause if you hold it too close you lose it
Don't worry about your life
So won't you let go before it's gone….
I see the birds, watch them fly
They have everything they need
Show me why
I can be free knowing You will care for me."
Don't Worry by Rebecca St. James
We as humans love to worry. We as Christians shouldn't but we often do. We worry about our future when we can see how God has worked in our past. We worry about tomorrow while we witness how God has aligned today. We worry about having enough when we've never done without. We worry.
This isn't something new among Christian circles. Even the disciples, who witnessed miracle after miracle, worried. In Mark, Chapter 8, verse 14 we run into one of these situations. Jesus and His disciples were in a boat by themselves. Suddenly someone realized that 'hey, there's thirteen of us and we've only got one load of bread.' They worried. Jesus, picking up on their worry questioned them about it. He couldn't understand what the cause for concern was. On two separate occasions, the disciples had witnessed Jesus feed thousands of people from just a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. He even supplied so much that both times there was baskets left over! Yet the disciples were worried about having only one loaf of bread with Jesus in their presence.
Aren't we like that? Although I often read this section of scripture and wonder how the disciples could be worried about what to eat when they witnessed Jesus feed thousands with nothing, I've come to realize I do it all the time.
I can see how God has provided the funds to pay for my education, but deep down I still worry about next year's tuition. I can see how everything in my past, no matter how tragic, has worked for good, but I still doubt if the same will happen this time. I can see how God so many times has provided for our family and how we've never done without, yet when the bill comes in the mail, I still worry. I worry.
Maybe tonight you're hearing this and can relate. Isn't it so easy to take our eyes off what God has done and worry about what we haven't given Him a chance to do? Isn't it easy to get so caught up in ourselves that we lose sight of the big picture?
Point blank: worry is wrong. Not only does it deprive us of peace for today, but it's insulting to God because by worrying we ignore everything God has done and doubt what He can do. God doesn't want us to be caught up in worry, but rather to surrender in trust. God can take care of any problem and our worrying isn't going to help Him do it. God hasn't abandoned us as soon as we surrender at the cross. That's just the beginning of God supplying for us.
So tonight, let's make a commitment to stop worrying and start thanking. Every time worry creeps in, if we take some time remembering and thanking God for what He has done, we'll find that worry will decrease as thankfulness increases. In closing, Ian Maclaren once said:
"What does your anxiety do? It does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but it does empty today of its strength. It does not make you escape the evil; it makes you unfit to cope with it when it comes. God gives us the power to bear all the sorrow of His making, but He does not guarantee to give us strength to bear the burdens of our own making such as worry induces."
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.