Are you a worrier? Is today simply a stress rehearsal for tomorrow? Do you chew your nails? Do you experience the occasional butterfly in your stomach, or do you wrestle with a whole fighter squadron of them flying in formation?
Just remember, worry is like a rocking chair. You may feel a lot of moving and shaking, but you won’t get anywhere. In these days of COVID, I’ve seen a lot of shaking and quaking due to fear, helplessness and hopelessness. Don’t let worry dominate your life; after all, worry, is a thief that robs you of your:
Worth.
Opportunities.
Relationships.
Reason.
Youthfulness.
Worry, like a stone mason, chips away at our self-worth. And make no mistake about it, worry never uses a small chisel for delicate work; it employs a jackhammer that rips through even the toughest resolve. Worry can reduce you to second guessing and doubtful conclusions. It will destroy your confidence. But remember what 2 Timothy 1:7 teaches us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (NLT) You can overcome worry through the power of God and a disciplined life in him.
Worry, like a fog, blinds us to some wonderful opportunities. According to our nation’s Bureau of Standards, a dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of a hundred feet contains less than one glass of water. Hard to believe, isn’t it? All of that fog, if it could be condensed into its liquid form, wouldn’t quite fill an average drinking glass. A dense fog obscures our vision, blocks out the light and makes us feel disoriented. What fog is to your surroundings, worry is to your mind. It prevents you from being able to visualize the big picture, it blocks the light of the good things that happen in your life, and it makes you feel disoriented as you try to focus on goals and objectives. Jesus once told his listeners, “…do not worry about your life. Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26 NIV) Birds aren’t bothered by the fog; they can fly above it. Don’t let the fog of worry keep you grounded. Keep your eyes above the haze and trust the Lord.
Worry, like an intruder, plays havoc with our relationships. To begin with, worry makes us irritable and unpleasant to be around. Worse yet, the impact of our stress and anxiety have a way of rubbing off on those we love. And because we tend to put on a happy face in public, those closest to us will feel the sting of our prickly spirit when we let down. Worry has few friends but lots of enemies; it is no ally to building lasting relationships.
Worry, like a believable lie, undermines our ability to reason. The world is full of believable lies. I’m sure you’ve heard that George Washington reluctantly wore his false teeth because they were made of wood. Believable, yes, but not true. He did wear false teeth and they were reportedly very uncomfortable, but they weren’t carved from wood. Every day we are taken in by what seems reasonable but in the final analysis is untrue. Walk daily with him who said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…” and the believable lies won’t be so believable!
Worry, like the passing of time, prematurely steals our youthfulness. While relegated to the realm of the mental, worry nevertheless takes its toll on the physical. During times of excess worry, the body releases stress hormones such as cortisol into the system. Over time this hormonal overload can lead to several physical reactions such as: difficulty in swallowing, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, inability to concentrate, irritability, muscle pain and tension, nausea, shortness of breath, headaches, short-term memory loss, digestive problems, a weakened immune system and in some cases even heart attacks. Whew! Worry will make you old before your time!
Educator Leo Buscaglia wrote, “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” So just remember – worry is futile! It has been said, “Many of our worries are like small trees that temporarily cast long shadows.” Most of the things we worry about are not nearly as big as we believe – they are just long shadows of small things. And remember, some things in life you can control and others you can’t. Don’t worry about what you can control – just take charge. Conversely, don’t worry about what you can’t control – stewing about it won’t change a thing. Starting today, no more stress rehearsals. Store that rocking chair in the closet, quit chewing your nails and ground that squadron of butterflies!
