#225   WORRY

Worry, worry, worry!  That's all some people do.  Do you know why?  According to Norman Right in his book An Answer to Worry and Anxiety, people worry because they have what he calls an imagination.  He says we worry because we have an imagination, not because of our circumstances.  In other words, people worry because of what they are on the inside, not because of what happens on the outside to them.   Many people think that if they could move to a better neighborhood, or change jobs or do something to change their circumstances, they'd stop worrying.  But we worry because of what happens inside, not the outside.

There was once a man who was driving his car in the country and had a flat tire.  Opening his trunk, he found he had a spare tire but no jack.  What was he going to do?  He saw that here was a farmhouse about a mile down the road, so he figured he would walk down there, borrow a jack and come back and fix the flat.  As he walked down the road he started thinking, "I hope its a friendly farmer, I hope he doesn't have any of those big dogs around that I've seen before." The farther he walked, the more nervous he became, thinking, "He could be an unfriendly farmer.  He might even try to run me off, he might sic those dogs on me, he might even be downright nasty about it."  The farther he walked, the wilder his imagination grew.  By the time he reached the farmhouse and knocked on the door, he was as nervous as a turkey at Thanksgiving. The farmer came to the door and greeted him, saying "Yes, can I help you?" And the man blurted out, "You can keep your old jack, I didn't want it in the first place!" 

That's what your imagination does to you - it makes you worry over things that aren't even going to happen.  Maybe you are a concerned parent.  If you are, what happens when your teenage daughter is late coming home from a date?  She's fifteen minutes late and you wonder what she and her date are up to.  Where are they?  Why didn't they call?  What if? What if?   You're letting your imagination run wild.  I'm not saying we ought not be concerned.  There are situations where we let our imaginations get out of control, and it produces worry.  When that teenage daughter finally gets home, don't overreact with "Where in the world have you been?" And then you give her a long lecture on thoughtlessness and irresponsibility.  You may discover that they had a flat tire, a real one -- and there was no phone nearby.  Of course if it happens time and time again that's a different matter. 

There is a difference between concern and worry.  Someone has said that a worried person sees a problem and a concerned person solves it.  We've had lots of good advice from men telling us how to overcome worry.  General George Marshall says, "When a thing is done it's done, don't look back, look forward to your next objective." Herbert Hoover once said, " Never worry about anything that has passed, charge it up to experience and forget the trouble.  There are always plenty of troubles ahead so don't turn and look back on any behind you." It was Thomas Edison who said, "As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey." So there are lots of good people telling us good advice.  Norman Wright advised, "Don't let your imagination go wild."

The best advice I've heard came - not from a general, not from an inventor, a government director, nor a professor - from God.  For in the Bible, He says, "Do not be anxious for your life." Seek God first and He'll take care of you.