God says fret not. It’s not a suggestion but a command. As in all of God’s commands we have the right to choose whether to follow. But this is a difficult one for me.
I’m reading “O.C.” (Oswald Chambers) this morning and surprise he’s talking about this very subject. He says; “fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety and worry are an indication of how really wise we are, it’s much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get your own way.”
Ouch. I think someone just called me out. I spend most of my life, not planning (that’s what we call it) but actually trying to get my own way? Some of you will want to write back and say; “Hey but we have to plan for the future don’t we?” I honestly was taught to believe to worry meant you were on the ball. To scheme and over-plan and “get things done” proved to the world that you were a hard worker; a valuable member of society and you had drive. What if true drive is the ability to resist the temptation to worry? What if real success means you live your life in a way that brings about results without you worrying about it? Some of you will think this is crazy and worry that the campaign destroyed my sanity. That’s probably somewhat true but what if it’s right? What if God really means what He says? How do we live this way? Can we live this way? I for one and learning and willing to try.
I’m not sure really. I’m sitting here in the back yard; sun warming my toes and the wind is blowing the trees around me. I hear these birds welcoming the morning. I keep hearing that verse in the Bible that says the birds don’t worry about where they will get their next bite to eat. Sure, the birds have to get out of the nest and go look for food and so do we, but they don’t worry about it.
Perhaps it’s time to burn off a few worry warts and if you’ve ever had a wart burned off you know, it’s gonna hurt.
