Me, Worry?

Matthew 6:34 (RSV) ³⁴“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.

Like primary colors (blue, yellow, red) there are only a few primary emotions. There is anger, fear, and gladness. There is also what I see as states of the mind. There is doubt, curiosity, excitement, boredom and longing. Emotions and states of the mind can feed on one another. One can cause or alter the other. Some feelings are pleasant, some are extremely unpleasant and some are simply a matter of fact.

Some folks believe that our circumstances evoke feelings. Some believe that our interpretation of our circumstances cause us to feel one way or another. For example, if we perceive a threat where none is present, we might become fearful. This is where states of the mind, such as suspicion (a form of doubt) can cause us to focus our attention on words or actions that we might not otherwise acknowledge.

I once experienced a sharp pain located just left of the middle of chest. It persisted throughout the day. I became fearful and anxious. I drew the conclusion that my heart was diseased and would soon “attack” me. I was blocked by this fear. My reasoning became narrow and I poorly considered my course of action. I finally called my doctor and asked for an immediate appointment. I believed he would say, “Gary, it’s your heart. I am calling an ambulance to rush you to CICU.” In reality, it was pleurisy and easily treatable. My anxiety turned first to embarrassment, then to relief. No circumstance had changed – my feelings were not circumstantially dependent.

It is not our circumstances that cause our anxiety – is our interpretation of those circumstances that precipitate our feeling and mental states.

Worry is amplified by two mistakes: one is inactivity the other projection. If we are worried about something but take no action to address the perceived threat, then we are foolish. If we take an immediate problem and focus on what we think will result from it, we are foolish.

Cast all your cares on God, for God cares for you. Even our foolishness, we should pray and seek God’s wisdom.

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows but only empties today of its strength.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892)

Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.

Arthur Somers Roche

Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and his will for us.

Billy Graham (1918– )

  Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father; who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow, and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or he will give you unfailing strength to bear it.

Saint Francis of Sales (1567–1622)

Man, like the bridge, was designed to carry the load of the moment, not the combined weight of a year at once.

William Arthur Ward (1812–1882)

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith; and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.

George Muller (1805–1898)