Today's Devotional Thought
May 04, 2010 by Rachel Piferi
Do Not Worry
Do you ever worry? Are you a chronic worrier? Some of us are more likely to worry than others, but I am sure that all of us worry about something. We worry about our children. We worry about our finances. We worry about our health. We worry about the future of our country. If you stop and think about it, we worry about a lot.
In today’s verses, we see the familiar phrase do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. And, we are told, in this often quoted verse, to just focus on today because we have enough to worry about in the things that we have to do today. It reminds me of one of my new favorite quotes by George MacDonald:
“No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourself so. If you find yourself so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God’s. He begs you to leave the future to him, and mind the present.???
When we look at what we worry about, we typically worry about things in the future. In fact researchers estimate that about 45-60% of what we worry about never actually happens. And even though much of what we worry about happening doesn’t happen, we still spend a lot of time thinking and stressing about it.
So, why do we worry?
Research shows us that worry is a way of processing things that we anticipate may come. And for some reason, we dwell on these things as a way to prepare for them or find a solution to them before they even present themselves. So, by thinking about them and dwelling on them, we think that we will be more prepared for them if they do come.
But guess what? There is an infinite number of possible things that could occur in the future. And, you cannot possibly think of them all or prepare for them all. And, trying to prepare for every possible outcome will only monopolize your time, your thinking, and your emotions today and will overburden you today. Those of you who worry know this is true. You know that a day spent worrying about an anticipated future event does not really impact the future event, but it does overburden your present and whatever you have to do today.
George MacDonald says it well. If we add the worry of tomorrow to what we are already facing today, we will become overburdened. There are countless future possibilities that you could worry about and most of them will never occur, as research shows us.
We really need to listen to Jesus when He tells us to not worry about tomorrow. Combining the worry about tomorrow with the burdens of today’s reality is too much for anyone to handle. Leave the future and its endless possibilities to God and just focus on today.
December