Worry?

How many of us spend the day worrying about problems instead of enjoying the day? There is a song sung by Bobby McFerrin entitled, “Don’t worry, be happy”. We should be singing this song when we are faced with a problem to help us cheer up.
But what does the Bible says about worrying? In Matthew 6:25-33 Jesus reminds his disciples people are more valuable than birds of the air and lilies in the fields. He then asked them this question, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” or, in other words, can all your worries add a single moment to your life? The reality is that no amount of worrying can lengthen your life or add anything to your physical person. Instead, worrying robs you of sleep, health and many good years. In fact, it is only when you are worry-free that God’s anointing flows freely in you, strengthening, healing, restoring and adding to you.

John 14:27 declares that Jesus has given us peace beyond the world’s so-called peace. We can choose to live in peace. It will be a struggle to have a restful mind but Jesus ask us to guard our hearts and he will take care of what’s outside. When the devil stole our peace in the Garden of Eden, Jesus came and restored it back in full by dying on the cross. Jeff A. Benner defines peace in the Hebrew language this way: “When we hear the word peace we usually associate this to mean an absence of war or strife but, the Hebrew meaning of the word shalom has a very different meaning. The verb form of the root word is shalam and is usually used in the context of making restitution. When a person has caused another to become deficient in some way, such as a loss of livestock, it is the responsibility of the person who created the deficiency to restore what has been taken, lost or stolen. The verb shalam literally means to make whole or complete. The noun shalom has the more literal meaning of being in a state of wholeness or with no deficiency. The common phrase shalu shalom yerushalayim (pray for the peace of Jerusalem) is not speaking about an absence of war (though that is part of it) but that Jerusalem (and by extension all of Israel) is complete and whole and goes far beyond the idea of peace”. Therefore peace means wholeness or feeling complete.
We must learn to let go and trust God in our situations. But how do we let go? Focusing on other things can make you lose interest in that problem. For example, if you have worries on finances then perhaps do something else that does not involve you in spending money, like playing football with the kids or going for a walk. If you have friends talk openly about your problems and you will have comfort from one another. Reading the Bible will also help but avoid reading Bibles that are complicated to understand like King James Bibles with “thy” words.
Worrying just gives the devil a chance to pursue other things in our life. We can easily believe his lies and think that he has power over us. But when we choose not to worry, we are putting our faith in God. It shows that we have more confidence in God’s love and power working in us than in the devil’s ability to harm us. When we refuse to worry, but choose to rest in the finished work of Christ, we will see the manifestation of our blessing.