An unknown source writes:
"How you can tell when it's going to be a rotten day:
You wake up face down on the pavement.
You call Suicide Prevention and they put you on hold..
You see a "60 Minutes" news team waiting in your office.
Your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles.
You turn on the news and they're showing emergency routes out of the city.
Your twin sister forgot your birthday.
Your car horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell's Angels on the freeway.
Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.
The bird singing outside your window is a buzzard.
You wake up and your braces are locked together.
You call your answering service and they tell you it's none of your business.
Your income tax check bounces.
You put both contact lenses in the same eye.
Your wife says, "Good morning, Bill," and your name is George."
You may say, "That sounds like my life. I'm constantly worried that these things might really happen to me, or, something even worse." Worry is not a good thing to live with! Anxiety can be put a strangle hold on your life. Your constant fear is that something is going to go wrong. You live with an Eeyore kind of complex. Nothing goes right so let me worry about what's next. But, worry is not a laughing matter! And most of us deal with worry from time to time.
Don Joseph Gowey in his book, "The End of Stress: Four Steps to Rewire Your Brain" writes,
"Five hundred years ago, Michel de Montaigne said: My life has been filled with terrible misfortune; most of which never happened. Now there’s a study that proves it. This study looked into how many of our imagined calamities never materialize. 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.
Lo and behold, it turns out that 85 percent of what subjects worried about never happened, and with the 15 percent that did happen, 79 percent of subjects discovered either they could handle the difficulty better than expected, or the difficulty taught them a lesson worth learning. This means that 97 percent of what you worry over is not much more than a fearful mind punishing you with exaggerations and misperceptions" (https://donjosephgoewey.com/eighty-five-percent-of-worries-never-happen-2/).
So, how do I stop worrying as a way of life? Jesus said,
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself life one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matthew 6:25-33).
Let's make some observations about what Jesus says in this passage:
1. He said to not worry (vv. 25, 31). Jesus will never command us to do
something that we are not capable of doing with His help.
2. Jesus indicates that the things we worry about are insignificant in comparison
to His abundant provision.
3. Jesus assures us of our worth as opposed to the birds of the air and the lilies
of the field.
4. The birds of the air and the lilies of the field are taken care of by God and they
do not do anything to provide for themselves, How much more will God take
of care of us?
5. Worrying does not add time to our life which means that worry cannot solve
anything issues that we worry about. In fact, worry causes more problems
like ulcers, headaches, nervousness, Acid Reflux, etc.
6. It is the unsaved who worry because they cannot and do not lean upon a
heavenly Father, but the heavenly Father knows the needs of His children and
provides for them.
7. Rather than worry, Jesus says to change our focus to His kingdom and
righteous living, and all of our worries will be placed in proper priority. Do I
really believe that?
8. It is a matter of faith (v. 30). How much do we really trust our heavenly
Father?
Paul gives us the cure for anxiety in Philippians 4:6-7:
"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life" (The Message).
The bottom line is to:
1. Pray more.
2. Be thankful more.
3. Trust God more.
4, Lean on self less.
5. Enjoy life.