A Rocking Chair Named Worry

Did you know that we spend 40% of our time consumed by the anxiety of improbable circumstances? An additional 30% of our time is wasted on worrying over things already experienced—situational hiccups that come and go before we know they’re gone. The anxieties that are indeed justifiable plague our thoughts only about 8% of the time. So much for the phrase, “Just don’t worry about it!”

Now let me ask you this: did you know that worrying is a sin? Little consideration was given regarding this insight. That is, until I came to the unsettling realization of the root which cultivates stress and anxiety—the small seed of doubt.

Eeek! Yes, doubt, my friends, is a back-handed slap across our Father’s face. I question how long my faith has been so feeble. Without even realizing it, I have spent over three-fourths of my time in sin when alone with my thoughts. That’s not counting the other innumerable offenses I pray and ask forgiveness for each day. I figured worrying was just a part of getting your ducks in a row, trying to figure out the next bridge to cross and/or step to take. The illumination of this information just goes to show you’re never too old to learn something new.

So how do we feel when we’re doubted by those who love us? Being the control freak that I am, (yea, I know it’s true!) I frequently catch myself uttering the words, “Just trust me!” as I coolly instruct my friends to let me assist with the issue at hand. When I’m given a heavy sigh followed by an eye-roll and a shrug, I can’t help but feel resentment encroaching and, yeah, a little hurt.

Needless to say, it’s difficult to even imagine how God must feel daily when we untiringly consume ourselves with insignificant problems and worries. Such the obstinate message that we send to the Lord, “Hey, I love you, but I don’t trust you!”

I’m beyond guilty of letting fret control me instead of allowing Jesus to be the bottom line. Every morning He lovingly wipes our slates clean from sin and worry, only for us to wake up, click on the brain and instantly dump our doubt upon Him again. Let’s face it; we’re ill-equipped to handle anything in this life!

But before you allow yourself to WORRY about that, here’s another thing I've quickly come to learn and adore—Jesus doesn't mind carrying our load and burdens of sin; it’s already a done deal, folks! He knows we need Him just as He knows us more deeply and intimately than we even know ourselves. The first passage in Jeremiah states,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

That’s deep, can you handle it? I just remember that He is the Blessed Controller of all things. I rejoice in His grace and goodness!!! For I once read, “Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it gets you nowhere.”

Therefore, I say to you (and to myself), “Let go and let God!” When I find myself troubled about my future, I stop and repeat that simple yet powerful phrase. It’s a constant reminder of God playfully patting my head and saying, “I got you, MC…No worries.”