The carefree seaside holiday feels far away. The sky is full of clouds, and the calendar is full of responsibilities. A text message comes in with bad news from someone you love, and the worry slips in quietly—and forcefully—with it. Of course it does. You can’t stop it.
Or can you? One way to stop worrying would be to stop caring about anyone, and anything. Go find a comfortable spot and keep to yourself. A few acquaintances might be workable, but be very careful not to make any real friends—you’ll end up worrying about them, eventually. Avoid marriage, romance, and commitment of any kind. Stay as far from children as possible. Only gather possessions that you can keep very close, and very safe. Don’t attempt anything that might not succeed. Reduce your expectations.
Never mind. It won’t work. Even if you follow all of that terrible advice, you’ll still end up worrying. I guarantee it. You’ll worry about your health, at some point. You’ll worry about the storm coming in. You’ll wonder why the stranger knitted their brow and shook their head—just slightly—when they looked at you. You’ll worry about money. You’ll worry about whether your life means anything at all.
No matter how hard you try to push it down and ignore it, the worry will come. Most often, it will come from the fact that you have good things that might be lost. Good things that are temporary and fragile, because everything in the world is temporary and fragile. Sometimes those good things really will be lost, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are good. You worry about relationships, possessions, and success because you have people to care about, provision to protect, and enough strength to take risks. Even if all you have to worry about is your own life, then you have something truly wonderful—life! Yes, you might lose it. We all do, eventually. And it’s still a blessing.
Worry doesn’t solve anything, but it does tell us something. It’s a sure sign that we really do have good things in our lives. It’s a sign that God has given us good gifts. It’s also a sign of how hard we try to keep and control his gifts by our own strength and planning, rather than accepting, enjoying, and trusting those gifts back into the hands of the Giver. That’s the hard part, and it really is hard. Maybe the first step is just to remember what a blessing it is to have things to worry about, and say thanks.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” — Philippians 4:6-7
