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Have you ever heard this Present-Day Proverb: “Don’t trouble trouble until trouble troubles you”? Actually it’s not that new, because Jesus said pretty much the same thing in his sermon on the mount, found in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Trouble is a part of our lives. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). But it’s possible that you are heaping unnecessary trouble on yourself because you “trouble trouble.” What does that mean? Well it means you stir it up; you dwell on it; you refuse to turn it over to God; you imagine the worse, you talk about it too much. You pronounce self-fulfilling prophecies.
For example, you trouble trouble when you say things like I heard they’re going to lock us down again. You trouble trouble when you worry about things over which you have no control. I confess that I can trouble trouble over little stuff like traffic or the weather, so I’m learning to say to myself, “Mary, you have no control here; let it go.” In other words, stop troubling trouble!
Here’s the really good news: When trouble truly is troubling you, as a Christ-follower, you have an answer, a recourse, a plan of action that will make a huge difference. You have the right to call to your Heavenly Father for relief, as David did in Psalm 25: “Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish” (Psalm 25:17).
And again in Psalm 34: “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).
And the wonderful promise given to us by the Lord himself, in John 14: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
Then the incredible thing is that God can use our troubles to help others, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “(God) comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4).
So, don’t trouble trouble today, but if it troubles you, give it over to Jesus and receive his peace, so you can comfort others who are troubled.
[We have created Present-Day Proverbs cards as a helpful reminder. If you would like to download them click here or call (630-462-0552) us to receive them by mail.]