WORRY

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Max Lucado writes good stuff. Consider the following:

When was the last time you solved a problem by worring about it? Imagine someone saying, “I got behind in my bills, so I resolved to worry my way out of debt. And, you know, it worked! A few sleepless nights, a day of puking and hand wringing. I yelled at my kids and took some pills, and—glory to worry—money appeared on my desk.”

It doesn’t happen! Worry changes nothing. You don’t add one day to your life or one bit of life to your day by worrying. Your anxiety earns you heartburn, nothing more. Regarding the things about which we fret:

*40 percent never happen
*30 percent regard unchangeable deeds of the past
*12 percent focus on the opinions of others that cannot be controlled
*10 percent center on personal health, which only worsens as we worry about it
*8 percent concern real problems that we can influence

Ninety-two percent of our worries are needless! Not only is worry irrelevant, doing nothing; worry is irreverent, distrusting God.