Who doesn’t worry sometimes? We worry
about failing in school
or in our work. We worry that we
won’t be able to make ends meet financially.
We worry about the ones we love.
We worry about our future. We worry about what’s going to happen in the world.
We worry about
so many things.
Most worries come down to one of
two things: remorse over past failures and situations gone wrong, and fear over
the future.
How can we keep such fears from
affecting us? One good answer can be found in a most unexpected place—modern
ocean liners. They are constructed in such a way that in case of fire or
serious leakage,
watertight, fireproof steel doors
can be closed to seal off the damaged
compartment from the others and
contain the problem, so the ship can stay afloat. So it can be in the “ship” of
our lives.
In order to make the most of
today and best prepare for the future, we need to learn to seal ourselves off
from worries about yesterday with its mistakes and failures, as well as from
needless fears about tomorrow. Otherwise our worries may cause us to sink.
Try to live by the motto, “Do not
worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Have you ever
noticed that it’s the things that never happen that seem to worry us the most?
Like the writer and humorist Mark Twain said toward the end of his life, “I’m
an old man, and I’ve had many troubles— most of which never happened!”
One businessman drew up what he
called a “worry chart,” where he kept a record of his fears. He discovered that
40% of them were about things that probably would never happen, 30% concerned past
decisions that he could not change, 12% had to do with other people’s
criticisms of him, and 10% were
unfounded worries about his health. He concluded that there were valid reasons
for only 8% of
his worries. Worry is like a
rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but it never gets you anywhere.
You can ask God to help you not
worry, because He has promised that all things work together for good to those
who love Him. So
why worry? You’re in His care.
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