Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? Mat 6:27 

Fret not thyself – Psalm 37

Who doesn’t worry?

Life, in its mysterious ways, raises many questions, and we meet them right from childhood. And the tragedy is that as life progresses and expands, so does the mind, and so are the questions it throws in one’s path, until one is reluctantly forced to concede that what the Preacher wrote a long time ago is indeed true, that, ‘in much wisdom is much grief.’ Where is this road going? What lies ahead? Will it bring me home or will I be eaten by a lion? And half the time these questions arise, they always presuppose something worse going to happen… and so not knowing exactly what, therefore we worry! Are you married? And how did you feel on the night preceding your big day? Did you sleep?

And it is interesting that David, perhaps the chiefest ‘worrier’ of all time should have written a psalm asking us not to fret! For about a third of his psalms ring with a lone voice crying to God to deliver him from his enemies, with Saul being the single greatest threat to his life, and so much so that he had been very certain that one day he would die at the hand of Saul! And so we know that much from it being an encouragement to us, but chiefly it was a testimony and encouragement to David himself, as it is written, ‘but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.’

 We worry, and half of our lives is taken up by it, about job, love, sex, food, cloth, marriage, death and life in general. We worry. We are terribly insecure. And worrying does not even listen to reason. It just rears its head, uninvited, and like a car with a drunken driver, it runs wild. But in the end we achieve nothing really by worrying, except getting sapped. Asaph worried. It depressed him. Others were getting rich while he was getting poorer. Asaph almost lost his faith. Are you anywhere near that at present? Please don’t – find out what Asaph did (Psalm 73).

David was always in the mire, and mud always almost covered him. Job’s life had almost come to an end – but not his worrying. Even being in good health does not shield one from worrying. Job’s friends’ worrying and descent into ‘miserable comforters’ happened without their knowledge… Adam worried… he fenced, he threw punches at himself… yet one cannot fail to notice (or even fear!) at the almost grand calmness of Eve… The disciples of Jesus worried… Martha worried… and Mary… ‘Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. ’ Elijah worried…and he didn’t even remember Mt. Carmel… and which prophet didn’t worry? What about old Moses? Even the entourage in the wilderness was a worried one… what of the spices and the garlic onions which they left behind in Egypt? And what of the men who made them feel like grasshoppers? And their worry naturally morphed into bitterness… and heavy death followed thereafter. Worrying kills completely eventually. A lot of stroke victims can testify of the worries which plagued them just before they lost consciousness…

Drugs are always a Poor antidote to Worrying

We take drugs to kill worry… but how long does the worrying sleep? They make us sick instead… and being sober and in a hospital bed alone and not in a bar room with all that din… to be absolutely sober and alone and in a hospital ward… you would think worrying might multiply but the opposite actually happens…it is the sudden clarity of ‘all things’ which actually scares! Even the silent groanings of other patients in the room turns the whole world upside down… worrying is terrible… But sometimes not worrying is even worse!

Having a clear Perspective on all Matters of Living will shield one from Unnecessary Worrying

Allow yourself a clear perspective, some things change, the body changes, slowness will set in, interest will dim… sometimes our worries happen because we refuse to accept the inevitable… at above fifty things will certainly begin to decline… one can’t do one hundred laps now whereas while young it seemed like a child’s play… So it is better for one to have a proper perspective especially on those small matters of living and which suddenly can provoke so much worrying… Change happens, or it will certainly happen sooner or later! Even Paul who used to preach standing up the whole night knew when his time was up… Even Abraham and Isaac and Jacob… perspective didn’t escape them… as they started to put their houses in order while they were still alive… They were ready for any eventuality, but we have an even greater urgency now than them, as it is written, ‘Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh’ (Mat 25:13). 

Praising God works Magic, And the Devil Hates It!

Yes, praise God, and scare the devil! And the worrying will inevitably leave you alone. The devil just hates it. Or convert your worrying into a creative pursuit… our mom’s knew this better…it is why they never stopped knitting even when they were attending a funeral! And it is why they live long years… way, way long after men have gone to sleep. Or write your worries down. Our thoughts can get jumbled… writing…keeping a journal … helps one trap his thoughts …and worries, and it helps one put one’s life in proper perspective. It is scary but true…one can be worried without knowing they are actually worried…but writing brings that to an end. And so ‘LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am.’ 

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