At the office at the end of the year we gathered around the conference room table and offered up things we’d love to do without in the New Year. I was surprised how often “worry” came up.
Live without worry? Is that even possible? Don’t our minds naturally click along the worry track like a locomotive barreling across the plains? Once when I suggested I would be giving up worrying, a friend said that would be like Fred Astaire giving up his tap shoes.
It made me look back to those beautiful passages in the Bible where Jesus talks about worry (Matthew 6:25-34; Luke 12:22-31). It always seemed like a nice sermon. But it also offers some practical advice:
1) Look to the birds.
“Look at the birds in the sky,” Jesus said. “They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them.”
Okay, now, do just that. Look at birds. Every time I think of them or study them, they’re endlessly busy. They’re cruising the sky ready to swoop down on a meal or they’re gathering seeds or they’re plucking twigs and grass to create a nest or getting food for their young.
We can be like the birds. Do what we’re called to do. Write that email, bake that cake, call that friend, organize that meeting, send that card, read that book, babysit for the kids, weed that garden. God called us to serve, and when we serve He takes care of our needs. No need to worry.
READ MORE: 7 WAYS TO GIVE UP STRESS
2) Consider the lilies.
“And why do your worry about clothes?” Jesus said. “Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these.”
So keep your eye on the beauty of the world. Drink it in. Savor it. See its wonders. Go for a walk. Sit on a park bench. Pull over to the side of the road to admire a sunset. See the magnificence of a leaf, an apple, a turn of phrase, a laugh, a song, a voice.
“Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?” Jesus asked. How can you worry about tomorrow’s troubles when you’re savoring the wonders of today?
3) Focus on the kingdom.
If I just told myself “Don’t worry!” I would only worry more. The word would get stuck in my head and add to my worries.
But what I can do, and you can do, is to put something else in the mind, something bigger, more satisfying, maybe even more complicated and challenging. “Desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness,” Jesus said, “and all these things will be given to you as well…”
Is that an easy thing to do? Goodness no. It takes a lot of work, a lot of trying (and failing) and then trying again. It takes patience, and listening and closing my eyes in prayer to get of silly distractions–like so many worthless worries–and focus on one big thing.
READ MORE: ALLOW JESUS TO STEER YOUR LIFE
“Stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself,” Jesus said. Think of the stuff you worried about that never came true. Was it worth all that toil and sweat?
“Each day has enough trouble of its own,” Jesus ended by saying. No, our lives are not going to be without challenges and difficulties and problems. But did they ever get solved by worry?
What are your worries? How do you get rid of them? Join us for a Facebook live chat with Rick on Thursday, January 26 at 3pm EST and let’s get rid of worry for good!
