Don’t Worry, Be Happy
An estimated eighty-five percent of things people worry about never come to fruition. That is somewhat comforting, but if that’s true, why is it so easy to slip into a worry loop? Why are we pros at creating what-if scenarios? Why are we often awake at night manufacturing catastrophic situations in our minds? And what about the 9-15% of the worries that do come true?
Dan Zadra says, “Worry is a misuse of the imagination.” How true. We hear advice such as "Don’t worry about things you have no control over.” or “Don’t stress. It’s all good.” But setting aside our worries is much easier said than done. Do we have a choice regarding the things we allow our minds to be preoccupied or consumed with? Is there a better way?
Better than working hard not to worry. Better than trying not to feel when it actually hurts. Better than pretending all is well when what you’re facing is tough. Or better than offering a clenched-toothed smile and uttering, “I’m fine” when worry is all-consuming. After all, no one wants to bring others down. And so, along with trying to dismiss the stresses and struggles, we drown them out or drag them around struggling in silence. But worry has a way of bubbling to the surface.
God knows we struggle with worry. That’s why he tells us: “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?…seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (see Matthew 6:25-34)
But how do we stop? The verses above provide some valuable insight and two concrete actions we can employ to dissolve worry. 1) We can trust God to take care of us (Jesus tells us God provides for the birds and will provide for us too). 2) We can “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.”
Isn’t it a relief that instead of merely being told not to worry, or willing ourselves not to, we have a plan of attack to battle the worry when it rises up and threatens to steal our peace?
First, armed with the assurance of God’s care, we no longer need to bury our worries and fears, make light of them, or allow them to overcome us. We can acknowledge they exist, look them in the eye, and give them a name. Instead of losing sleep, ignoring the ever-growing elephant in the room, or feeding ourselves platitudes to get through, we—in an act of fierce courage and self-care—stop and take an honest look at what’s troubling us and then bring them to God trusting he will carry us through the smallest to the greatest of our troubles, whether imagined or real.
Instead of telling ourselves not to worry, we haul that pile of worry—in its various forms—to God. God’s word tells us to, “cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). We can tell God our worries, releasing them to him. As we offload them, we feel lighter. It doesn’t mean the problems disappear, it just means we have help and an adjusted perspective to work through them. In this way, we proactively face them, and like most things we pay attention to and give a concerted effort toward, they begin to positively shift. In the handing over, the confessing it’s too heavy for us alone, we allow God to help us carry our burden. Then we trust him with it.
The second antidote to worry is to “seek first His kingdom and righteousness”. Our hand firmly placed in God’s we are held, helped, and led through our troubles. Although we often have no control over the source of our worries, we do have control over our attitude toward them. We can not only trust in God’s care but can also take responsibility for our thought patterns. Though we might not be able to fix the problem, we can alter our thinking towards them. We can train our brain to think differently. Instead of focusing on the problems, we focus on God. We continue to bring our cares to him in prayer, and find comfort through scripture and gathering together with believers. We can help others instead of merely helping ourselves.
As for that small percentage of things we worry about that do come true? Often the outcome is not only better than expected, but we also have God’s help through them and a kingdom mindset to overcome them. And let’s not forget the valuable character and experience we gain as a result.
Why would we knowingly waste our life on worry, spending our days—or nights—dreading events or outcomes that never occur, and stressing over all the moving parts we can’t control? But these moment-by-moment choices in our thinking end up comprising our lifetime. We have a choice regarding what we allow our minds to be preoccupied or consumed with, and we have God’s help to master it. We can hand over trying to control of the things we can’t control and simply trust God.
With God’s help, it’s possible to live unburdened, unhindered, free of the weight of worries and fearful thinking. Life-giving thoughts and actions begin to prevail and create spacious places for peace, joy, and love to pour into moments and into the lives of others. A life lived undistracted by worrisome thoughts and paralyzing fear. One of freedom and purpose. A life-changing life, lived leaning into God.
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. ~ Hebrews 12:1-3
