What? Me? Worry?
Are you kidding me?
Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread. Matthew 16:8
I talk a good game about having faith and not worrying, but just like everyone else, I sometimes have my doubts and fears. I’m not there yet—to that place where nothing causes me to worry. But I’m getting closer!
Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt when the disciples, after all they’d seen Him do, still worried over anything? In today’s vernacular, He must have been shaking His head, thinking, “Are you kidding me?”
And here we are today, knowing all He’s done for us, knowing He knows every hair on our head and will help us in any and every situation, and still we worry and fret. Most of us, when we compare our lives to those of many others around the globe, quickly realize we have nothing to complain about. Our gripes and concerns are typically about things far beyond our daily bread, and I’m pretty sure I can safely say few of us have ever experienced hunger in its true sense.
We lounge in the luxury of God’s love and blessings, and yet at the least inconvenience or sign of trouble, we grumble and groan.
When you start to worry or fret over anything, imagine the sound of Jesus’ voice saying, “Are you kidding me?” Kind of makes you smile, doesn’t it?
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Raivenne said
That actually did make me smile. Thanks Charles.
charlesmashburn said
It did? Well… looks like my work here is done!
carrollstreetcrier said
I recently wrote about waking up at 3:00 in the morning and fretting. I don’t know whether fretting over my life woke me up or whether I immediately began fretting over my life upon waking. Either way, as soon as I realized how silly my fretting was, I knew I simply needed to change my mind, (be anxious for nothing, change my heart and mind to God). It was interesting noticing, however, how quickly my natural mind’s inclination was to simply wake in the middle of the night, with self condemnation, with no prompting at all.”Out of nowhere, it seemed!” Just wake up that way!” I am so Thankful to have Christ in my life that “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”. A quotation by Marian Williamson, was also helpful to me to recall, a quotation that Nelson Mandala used in his 1994 inauguration entitled “Our deepest fear”. Nonetheless, I am thankful, that God redirected my mind immediately in that “middle of the night” episode to stop my worrisomeness. We worry (anxious) like we sin, because we are not in paradise or heaven. I’ll keep practicing. I am thankful that my friend “siggieofmaine” directed me to your blog. Read you every day.
charlesmashburn said
Thank you for the great comment, Carroll. Yes, our human reactions and habits are a baffling thing. I often wonder why we tend to lean the wrong way, and have such a hard time focusing on God and the good stuff. Like you, I just keep practicing and hope by the time I get there, I get there, I’ll have it figured out.