Worry Robs Life

By Joe Chesser

    Every one of us has the same amount of time each day – 24 hours /1440 minutes. Time is what life is made of. So, since time is so precious, why waste a single minute of it in useless worry? What’s the point of worry? What good does it accomplish? None whatsoever! Read carefully what Bob Proctor has written:

Clearly understand, there isn’t any situation that isn’t made worse by worry. Worry never solves anything. Worry never prevents anything. Worry never heals anything. Worry only serves one purpose ... it makes matters worse. How? Well, quite simply, when you are focused on worrying about something you’ll never be able to focus on a solution. Be aware that your mind can’t focus on two things at the same time ... it can either focus on the current situation and worry, or on a solution. The choice is always yours.

     James Kurtz says, “If we worry, we don’t trust; if we trust, we don’t worry. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its grief, but it does empty today of its joy.”
     More importantly, the Bible tells us that we are not to worry about anything (Phil. 4:6 ; Matt. 6:25-34). God wants us to trust Him to provide the things we need in life. But even more, He wants us to allow Him to fill our lives with peace by giving Him all our anxieties and concerns. That sounds like a pretty good trade: my anxieties for His peace!
     Instead of wasting your precious time in useless worry, displace the worry with its positive opposite. Everything negative has a positive opposite, including worry. Instead of fretting over people and problems, work with God toward good solutions. But by all means, don’t allow worry to rob you of life and its joys.
     Most of the things we worry about are a total waste of time. According to Bob Proctor, 40% of the things we worry about never happen, 30% of the things we worry about are over and done with and cannot be changed, 12% are over needless concerns about our health, and 10% are just petty miscellaneous worries. Only 8% of the things we worry about are legitimate concerns; 92% of our worries rob us of a joyful and peaceful life. But, as always, the choice is entirely yours!

- Joe Chesser preaches for the Fruitland Church of Christ, Fruitland, MO.  He may be contacted at joeandareva@yahoo.com