No Worries...

I find myself saying this statement quite often. Someone will apologize for something that's usually no big deal and I'll fire off a "no worries" response. It's quite presumptuous for me to think they've been agonizing over this "not-so-dilemma" that I would respond with a "no worries".

So it got me thinking about not having any worries. What a concept! No worries...ever? I try to even fathom that concept and I get worried I won't understand it. In Philippians 4:6, the writer Paul says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." It got me to think about all the other passages that tell us about worrying (i.e. 1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 11:30, and Hebrews 4:15-16). It seems like a great concept, but how attainable is this really?

What I realized, partly through what's been happening in my personal life over the past few months, as well as this past week, is that scripture never tells us to do this alone. It never once says that you will be able to do this by your own power. If it were true, why would we need God? Why would we need His Holy Spirit? I think more often than not I expect, when I read these passages, to figure it out and muster up some kind weak attempt to do as they say. Often what I realize is that I'm weak (I know you're shocked!). I'm not strong enough to not worry. I'm not humble enough to cast my cares and be anxious for nothing. Left alone, I end up pounding my head against the wall in frustration and I completely forget about the power of God's spirit within me.

Philippians 2:13 says, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."

I truly believe part of understanding this takes maturity. I was at the store the other day and I saw a lot of elderly people congregating around these flowers eating some sort of seed from a sandwich bag, which I'm sure are healthy because elderly people eat weird and healthy things. And as I was standing in line waiting to buy my unhealthy items worried about getting home so I can hurry and finish what I needed to do there so that I can hurry up and go to the gym so that I could hurry up and pick up my son so that I could hurry up and hurry, I had somewhat of a tranquil moment starring at these older men and women enjoying these flowers eating their healthy seeds. Whether this is true or not, I believe they had a lot of peace. They didn't seem like they were in a hurry, they didn't seem like they had somewhere to go, they didn't seem like anything was on their mind except how much they enjoyed those flowers and how they really like consuming healthy seeds. So, I began to think a little. My conclusion was I needed be older. Not older in age, but in maturity. I don't think you appreciate or take the time to slow down, remember who you are, remember whose you are, and remember to pray because it's not by your own power, but it's the one who works in me. I don't remember this because I'm immature and I'm too busy thinking about myself.

So, when Paul writes to be anxious about nothing and by prayer bring your requests to God, he's not saying anxiety can be avoided completely. He saying when you rely on God and through prayer to Him, you can have peace through that difficult and often busy time. In my own opinion what often hinders this practice is my habitual reliance on myself and not God. Maybe this is a start for me. Maybe I won't have to wait until I'm too old to finally figure this out. I'm still not going to eat those healthy seeds. Yuck!