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Perhaps you know the story of Corrie ten Boom and how she and her sister were imprisoned during World War II for hiding Jewish people from the Nazis. Well, I have one last wise statement to give you, and this comes from Corrie. She said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”
We all know that worry is useless and yet I dare say we all still worry, some of us more than others. And Corrie is so right—worrying just takes away your strength and your endurance. What or who is on your worry list today? How long have you been worrying about them or it? Has it helped? Are things any better because you are worrying?
Silly question—of course not. Yet this is a tendency all of us have—to just worry about most anything, and that takes us easily into the miserable what-ifs that I talked about earlier this week. Here’s what Jesus said about worrying:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. . . Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’. . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:25-31, 33-34).
This is a directive from Jesus: “Do not worry;” full stop! So that means when you worry, you are disobeying Jesus and believe me, that never ends well. Here’s what Jesus told us to do with our worrying situations:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Exchange your worrying burden for Jesus’ light one. You may have to do it several times a day, but when you start to worry, stop in the middle, remind yourself that you are disobeying Jesus, and then by an act of faith—not feelings—leave your worry with Jesus and take his light one. It works, I promise. You just have to do it.