Luke 12:22…

What do you have to worry about?

I imagine just about everything.

Worry is a peculiar malady of the human condition, but if you stop to think about it, it needn’t be. One thing we already know before Jesus tells us is worry produces nothing.

Except all kinds of health problems. It has become inarguable worry has a deleterious effect on our physical bodies. The list of medical issues brought on by hypertension and stress are seemingly endless.

And just thinking about the list of the physical disease and even death caused by worry causes me to begin to worry about it.

The very word ‘disease,’ if broken into syllables tells it all: dis – ease; or simply put, a lack of ease. How interesting that worry, (or a lack of ease about a particular situation,) would be so closely related to sickness - but it should be that way because we now know a lack of ease can cause sickness.

God has created man in His image with the capacity to think about the future. In part, this thinking about the future is where worry comes from. We wonder about our future welfare in this physical world.

If we are thinking correctly, this can be an amazing tool employed to tell us we are off track. A warning sign, if you will. An alarm to tell us the wrong door is being opened. Stop and think – what were you worried about at this time last year? You probably can’t remember - but even if you can remember - what happened to the worry you harbored then?

Life in Christ is to be a life free from worry, because worry produces nothing, and it also causes harm. If you have been walking with Christ long at all then you have noticed God’s spoken and written desire that nothing in this world would cause us harm. It is the reason for the Law. The Law protects us from harming ourselves. It is a manifestation of how much God loves us. When we worry, it is an instant reminder we have left dependency upon God and exchanged it for depending upon ourselves.

-Pastor Bill