Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34
Years ago, the Lord dealt with me on a number of occasions about worrying. By way of Dale Carnegie coursework, I also came to understand that there is no value in unnecessary worrying. Simply ask yourself — “Is there anything more I can do in this situation?” If I can say “yes”, I should do that thing which I can do. If the answer is “No”, there is nothing more to do, and there is not a blessed thing that will be helped by worrying more.
There are days in running a new business where the heart sinks, and uncertainty seems to be winning — and I cannot help but wonder — am I doing enough to do what is right, and to be the man of God that He wants me to be? I catch myself thinking the phrase “Are you whistling in the dark?” — which means “to put on a brave face in a scary situation.” Or, am I “faking it until I make it?”
It will never be my intent to fight off the darkness and whistle my way through until I am out of the dark tunnel. If I am in a dark place, my defense is not to whistle in the dark and convince myself there is nothing to fear. My defense is to lean on my Creator — he will see me through. It comes down to a simple matter of faith.
