Monday Musing

What is on my mind today?

Hurricanes, tornadoes, floods…disasters abounding.

And the storms of life.

I live in the Northeast and our most recent pending disaster was the great Irene.

There was much hype about Irene, and for the more southern states the hype was appropriate. However, here in Maine it was for naught. Yes, we had rain and we had wind and there are some people without power, but this is nothing that we Mainers don’t normally endure during a typical winter snow storm.

With all the anticipation and preparedness that went on and then having it end up being not much of anything, it has made me think about all the other “storms” we encounter in life.

How often do we anticipate the worst? How often do we imagine what “could” happen?

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you have limited information and then let your mind and imagination take over? If you say no, then you are lying to yourself. We have all been there; it’s part of our human and imperfect nature.

We worry.

We worry that the life or environment we have created for ourselves or our loved ones will be threatened or possibly demolished.

Think of a hurricane warning. We are told what could possibly happen if hurricane-force wind or rain develop in our area. We begin to anticipate the worst and we begin to worry. We take every precautionary step to protect what is ours. We huddle inside our protective walls and wait for the storm to pass and pray that we make it out unscathed. All well and good when you are dealing with the forces of nature.

Never mind that history and experience has proven that the area you live in rarely deals with such forces of nature. And that the worry and extended precautions you have taken just aren’t necessary.

Yes, experience does and should play a part in how you handle situations. If you live in an area that consistently experiences hurricanes, then precautions should be undertaken. But because of previous experience, worry shouldn’t be a factor. You know what to expect and you know what to do, so you do it.

I think worry enters our lives when we don’t understand or don’t know.

Jesus specifically addressed worry in Matthew 6. In these passages, He is speaking directly about material needs. However, He ends it by saying:

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

I believe He is saying here to live in the moment; take care of the moment; do not anticipate and worry about what is next.

He talks further about worry in Matthew 13:

"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

He references “worry” as being of the world in this verse and then in the very next verse compares it to someone who hears the word and understands it.

"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

Worry does not bear fruit, it actually chokes the word.

Do a word search of “worry” and see how we are told NOT to worry. God does not want us to live this way.

Don’t worry about what is going to happen next, don’t worry about what you don’t understand; simply don’t worry!

Can you imagine the peace we would have if we simply trusted God and took Him at His word?

I had a small discussion about this with my son on Sunday. We were watching Charles Stanley who was talking about tithing. I love Charles Stanley, he teaches directly from the word and not his own opinion.

My son had questions about tithing and I did my best to help him understand and referred him to Malachi 3.10. It’s the one place where God actually tells us to test Him. It got down to the fact that we need to trust God when He says something.

That can be a hard thing. But trust is developed when we develop our relationship with God, just like we do with others in our life. Once trust is there, we don’t need to worry.

And once we stop worrying, we will stop anticipating the worst. And when we stop anticipating the worst, the storms of our lives will not seem so overwhelming.