My mother was a professional at two things: worry and fear.
I’m good at worrying too because I learned from the best. I’ve worried about many things in my life: death of family members, accidents, failure, and long-term illness.
A few years ago, I woke up with a strange feeling in my head, and when I tried to stand, I couldn’t. I felt nauseous but could not walk to the bathroom. After a trip to the hospital, the doctor informed me I had experienced a brain bleed and would need intubation. As a nurse, I knew about the procedure and wasn’t excited. I asked the doctor to give me something so I would not be awake. That was the last thing I knew until I awoke with the tube in my throat the next day.
Had someone asked me a week before this event if I would be afraid to wake with a tube in my throat, I would have shouted yes. But when it happened, I had no fear. It was uncomfortable, but I felt at peace.
The dictionary defines worry as tormenting ourselves with or suffering from disturbing thoughts. My definition is a fear that God doesn’t know what He is doing. But how foolish to think the God of all creation can’t figure out how to help us when we need Him.
Jesus doesn’t want us to waste time with worry and fear. When He and the disciples were in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, He didn’t say, Don’t be afraid because your boat is strong. You know what to do. Or this storm isn’t so bad. Instead, He told them not to be afraid because He was there.
The Bible never tells us to worry. Worry can’t add a single hour to our lives, give us words when needed, make someone well, or change the outcome of a situation. Only God can do any and everything, but worry stands in the way of God’s peace.
What are some ways you can better deal with worry and fear?
(photo courtesy of pixabay.com.)
(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)
Linda McClung grew up on a farm in Virginia and spent fifty years as a nurse, both practicing and teaching. She retired to South Carolina to enjoy the lake and became bored with too much time, so she began to write. At first, her stories were short stories for the grandchildren, but as they grew, so did her stories. She has three books published.