Charles Spurgeon recognized the draining effect worry can have on our daily life: “Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but only empties today of its strength.’ We function less effectively when we are consumed with worry. How realistic are the concerns that sometimes overwhelm us? Winston Churchill, a man who saw his share of trouble as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II, once observed, “When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.’ How many of our worries fail to materialize? We worry, for example, that the plane we are on will crash — and then it lands safely.
Most of us realize the harm that worry does to the body, but most of us do it anyway. Here is a technique that can help us break the worry habit: Wait before worrying. Keep in mind that the average worrier is 92% inefficient — only 8% of what anyone worries about ever comes true. There is the humorous story about the fellow who was so full of worries that when he found something new to worry about he would say, “I have too many worries right now — it will be six months before I will have time to worry about this one.’
Unfortunately, we live in such a fast paced society that if we get a new worry it goes right to the top of the heap and we immediately begin to worry about it. We need to learn to wait. Wait before worrying. It is not easy, but it is right. Often, time alone solves the thing that had us worrying. Suppose someone is not home at the scheduled time. While we are waiting, before worrying, the person shows up.
What should we do while we are waiting before worrying? Turn the new worry over to the Lord. Tell Him all about it. My favorite verse on this subject is Paul’s advice to those who lived in Phillipi. He told them, “Don’t worry over anything whatever. Tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.’ [Phillips translation]
Once the problem is turned over to God, it is foolish then to worry about it. After all, the problem is now given to God. Trust God with the worry. God is bigger than any problem we will ever have to face. If we take it back from Him and worry, it means that we really have not turned it over to Him in the first place.
King Hezekiah is an example of how to follow the instructions that Paul gave to the Philippians. Hezekiah received a terrible letter from the Assyrian King Sennacherib threatening to destroy him and all the people with him in Jerusalem. “Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.’ Then Hezekiah told God every detail of his needs. “And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, …. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God…O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.”
And what was God’s response? “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake… And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand:”
Hezekiah trusted God with his worry. He told God his needs, and the LORD answered his prayer. God will also answer our prayer. The answer may not be as spectacular an answer as King Hezekiah received, but the God that heard his prayer is the very same God to whom we pray.
When we face trouble in life, let us learn to wait before worrying. Let us wait on the Lord by turning our worries over to our God. We know from Scriptures that God is a retarder of those that diligently seek Him. We need to trust God and believe in what He can do, as Paul tells us, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One