This is the second week of a three-part series on worrying and the grace of God that will help us overcome it. Read Part 1.
Here is what the lady from the “worry home” says: “I am mentally in a state of agitation most of the time, which hinders me from clear thinking, and this makes it almost impossible for me to compose my mind and to take clear action.”
That is exactly what worry does for anyone. It agitates the mind, and as a result clear thinking is impossible; and if one does not think clearly, then one’s judgment of facts cannot be clear and correct. Therefore, one can imagine that all sorts of evils are going to happen to him, and his worry is increased.
Many people lose control of themselves and go to pieces — their nerves break down, their courage leaves them, they are forlorn, discouraged, and often hopeless. What brought them to such a state? Not the things that were actually facing them, but their worry over those things.
The lady quoted knew the remedy: “I know that simple trust is the remedy, but sometimes this, too, is hard to do and it takes me several hours to get quiet.”
Worry is a habit which is hard to break. This lady is gaining, however, for even though it does take some time, she is learning to trust; and when she trusts, she comes to quietness of spirit and her worry ends. She has got farther along than many, and she will eventually gain victory over the habit and learn to trust and be at peace even under threatening circumstances. She still give way to worry and this is the result: “I still spend hours in discouragement and almost despair of ever being an overcomer.” However, she does not remain in that condition: “Then my faith and courage will rise and I trust and obey through to victory.” She further says, “One thought has always helped me in time of trouble: if somebody else has come through this, I can stand it too.”
No Christian has any reason to worry. Get that fact fixed in your mind. Read it over and over. If you are a Christian, it applies to you. You may be a worrier, but you have no justification for your worry. Read God’s promises and see if you can find justification in them for your worrying. Think of how he has helped you in times past, and brought you through even greater difficulties than those which you now face.
Look at what God has done for many others. Does that give you reason to worry? Not one good word can be said for worrying. There is no excuse for it — no reason for it. Worry is a sort of mental disease. All bad habits finally become a sort of disease; for they produce physical results. The most common physical result of worry is broken-down nerves, mental instability, and lack of ability to meet things that are coming.
Peter encouraged believers to “humble yourselves … casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you … the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
Learn to cast your cares on Christ. He will bear them for you and sustain you. He will give you grace, courage, help, comfort — and whatever is needed to take you through. No, you have nothing to worry about.
Charles Wesley Naylor is considered one of the most prolific and inspiring songwriters of the Church of God. He was bedridden for much of his adult life but wrote eight books, a newspaper column and more than 150 songs. Many of his writings are in the public domain.
