No Disappointment!

I just found out that my rent has been raised $100 a month. I don’t have a job.  A friend is in the hospital. My dryer is falling apart, and my oven doesn’t work right. Russia is poised to invade Ukraine. Thailand has just declared martial law. Pollution in China is visible from space. The polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rate. My hair is fuzzy.

Life is full of stuff to worry about. There are so many things out of our control. Big things. Small things. Silly things. I worry about my kids, my pets, my friends, people I don’t like, what I will wear and if I will look appropriate, what I will eat and if it will satisfy. And to what end?

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:27

Calvin Coolidge said, “If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.” Think about all the possibilities of life. Let your imagination go wild. What is the worst that can happen? Now, think about all of those possibilities. Which are liable to actually happen? The reality is that the things we worry about rarely happen, and what does happen never crossed our minds. We spend time and energy worrying about troubles that never reach us, leaving us depleted of resources to handle what does happen.

So, why do we worry? Sometimes we worry out of fear.

            Perfect love casts out fear. I John 4:18

If I trust that God loves me and holds me in the palm of his hand, I won’t worry. If I love God, I will believe that he can handle my life. No fear.

Sometimes we worry because we feel we need to be in control.

            Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Proverbs 3:5-7

I think that often we worry because we have a wrong focus. We focus on the negative. We focus on temporary things. We forget that God knows our needs, and that he possesses all the riches of heaven and earth. We forget where he wants our focus to be.

            So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 6:31-34

So today, instead of worrying about how I will pay the rent or finding a job or my friend in the hospital, I will turn to Jesus. I will lift my friend before the throne of grace, and I will lay her and all my cares and worries at his feet. I will resist the temptation to pick them back up and carry them myself. I will trust that he loves me perfectly, and knows how to care for me. I will focus on the face of my Savior instead of the silly things I waste my time and energy on. I will seek his righteousness.

He who believes in Him shall not be disappointed! I Peter 2:6