Sunday, November 7, 2010

Stop Worrying

When I was a child, we used to travel from Chicago to visit our relatives in St. Louis every summer. I always liked going to my Uncle Johnny’s house because he had a big back yard with swings, apple trees and grass to play on. The rest of my family lived in flats, apartment buildings or projects and we had to play in the streets and alleys.

One summer, my brother and I made some sling shots out of some clothe hangers and rubber bands. We went to the back yard and started shooting rocks at apples, soda cans, or anything else that we could find. I was a terrible shot. I missed everything that I shot at.

Then I saw a bird that was perched on one of the branches. I put a rock in my sling, aimed at the bird and let the rock fly through the air. To my surprise, the bird fell to the ground. When I looked at his lifeless body, a feeling of guilt and shame came over me. I went in the house to tell my mother what I had done, hoping I would feel better. But what I saw made me feel worse. My mother and my aunt were standing in the kitchen, crying. The hospital had just called and told them that my grandfather had died. I thought God had killed my grandfather because I had killed one of his birds. There was no way that I was going to tell my mother that her father was dead because of me.

During the funeral, I was seated in the chair that was next to the aisle. Since the casket was closed when we marched in, I didn’t know that my grandfather’s body was already in there. I thought they were going to roll him down the aisle on a gurney and put him in the casket after the sermon. I spent the entire service worrying that he was going to grab my arm when they rolled him past me because I had killed him. When they started opening the casket, I looked over my shoulder and started crying and shaking uncontrollably. When I saw my grandfather was already in the casket, I realized that I had been worrying for nothing.

You might think that I was just a crazy, mixed-up child for worrying about something that was so silly. But most of the things that we worry about are just as silly, if we are Christians. Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” (Matt. 6: 25) In verse 26, He said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Finally, in verse 34, He said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
But we still worry about things that we have no control over. We worry about our health, our jobs, our bills, our children, our parents, the economy, the elections and many other things. Some of us have become sick because of worry. Did you know that 80% of the things that we worry about never happens?

Peter told us to cast all of our cares on Jesus because He cares about us. Worry doesn’t rid tomorrow of its sorrows, it just robs today of its joy. So stop worrying and enjoy the life that God has given you.





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Rev. Burton Barr Jr. (Author of "He's Only A Prayer Away", "The Hoodlum Preacher" and "Amazing Grace: The Storm Is Passing Over") & Cedric Mixon

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