Let’s face it, no matter how hard we try, life comes up with some troubled waters at times. That is not what bothers so many people. What brings deep emotional and spiritual heartache to so many is that life seems to be one big worry after another. No matter how hard these people try, they are consumed with worry. You may be one of these people. You may try your hardest not to worry, but it seems the more effort you put into not worrying the more you worry.
One man found a simple solution to his worrying problem. A man was worrying all the time about everything. He was a chronic worrier. Then one day his friends saw him whistling. “Can that be our friend? No, it can’t be. Yes it is.” They asked him, “What happened?” He said, “I’m paying a man to worry for me.” “You mean you aren’t worrying anymore?” “No. Whenever I’m inclined to worry, I just let him do it.” “How much do you pay him?” “Two thousand dollars a week.” “Wow! How can you afford that?” “I can’t. But that’s his worry.” Ha! Ha! By the way, there is a much better and cheaper way to eliminate worry from your life.
The Holy Scriptures explain to us how we can live eternally in heaven, and also, how to live successfully here on planet earth. The apostle Paul is between a rock and a hard place. First off, he is chained to two prison guards in a cold, damp, dark cell. Second, he is dealing with Christians in Philippi who are giving up the freedom they have in Christ to go back to bondage in following man-made rules and regulations. He writes to them a letter of joy and in explaining how to live joyful lives. He explains that one thing they need is to eliminate worry. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). In a nutshell, he tells you to pray about everything and worry about nothing. Stop, and re-read that last sentence slowly; let it sink deep into your cranium. Worried about something? Stop it! That is what Paul is saying. Stop worrying. How do you do that? The verse says by praying about everything with an attitude of thanksgiving. When you practice that, you will notice that worrying is eliminated from your life.
Instead of being a worrywart, stop the worrying and become a praying wart. Pray about everything! The next verse tells us the result of such living: “and the peace of God” will surround you. So go live in peace.
