Matthew 6:27

Matthew 6:27

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

I watched a movie recently that was staged during the Cold War era and involved an old Russian spy that was apprehended by the US government. During interactions with his lawyer, the Russian spy showed little concern about being arrested and potentially punished by his captors. When asked by his lawyer (who seemed surprised by this guy’s lack of worry or concern) “Why aren’t you worried?” the Russian spy responded very calmly “Would it help?”. I found his response to be amusingly refreshing. In just a few brief words, he was communicating the fact that worrying about his current situation would change nothing and provide absolutely no benefit to him or anyone else…so why bother with worrying. We worry a lot in our lives. Big worries over big issues…small worries over smaller issues.  For some, worry can be crippling, shutting down any decision making and progress. For others, it’s more of a mosquito in the ear, returning at particular times of the day, proving to be nothing more than a great annoyance and source of stress. We are naturally inclined to worry as it’s an unfortunate reality of our brokenness. But when we worry, we are acknowledging the shallow depth of our faith in our Creator. We are doubting that God has our lives in his hands, that he has things under control, and that he already has a perfect outcome planned for us. Worrying doesn’t mean we don’t have genuine faith in God or lack belief in his Son as the Savior…rather it’s the realization that our faith still needs developing. When we worry, we are proclaiming that our faith in God is weak and still very much a work in progress…that there is still a need for growth…that we still need to seek opportunities to grow closer to the Father and trust him more. The unfortunate byproduct of worry is finding our hearts and minds so knotted up and twisted that we become a wreck. We gain nothing from worry as it only intensifies the suffering. God doesn’t want us to worry…he wants us to trust…fully, wholeheartedly, and without doubt. Pushing worry out of the picture is not easy, but when we do, we find our trust in the Lord grows stronger. Every opportunity we have to deny worry and trust God pulls us closer to him. And there is simply no better place to be in this life than close to God. So today, when life kicks an obstacle in our path, and that old familiar foe “worry” comes crawling close behind, may we remember the words of that old spy (“Would it help?”) and choose to toss worry aside and trust in the Lord…the all providing, all powerful, all capable Father in Heaven. To God be all glory!