Worthless Worry - Psalms 12-13

"You, Lord, will guard us; You will protect us from this generation forever. The wicked wander everywhere, and what is worthless is exalted by the human race." (Psalm 12:7-8).

No one is immune from the common cold of worry. It is probably one of the most catching viruses there is. If you are confused by what I mean, let me explain. You find out you are pregnant, for most women, that is a happy event. Then you decide that you are going to be a responsible new mom and so, what do you do? You search the internet for all the information you can about possible issues that may arise during pregnancy. Now, all of a sudden, you are not enjoying your pregnancy but in a constant state of worry and panic. Every item on the list of possible ailments, you believe you or your baby may now be experiencing. WebMD - oh my goodness. You get sick. You search the web to find out what might be going on, you enter your ailments... Yep, cancer. That has to be it. Your kids are out a little later than expected, your mind races. Instead of praying, you allow it to wander to every possible tragedy that could have occurred. Your anxiety peaks.

The aforementioned examples are extreme. Let's bring it down a notch. You worry that your home is perfect for guests; your kids having the best grades, or acting just right when out in public; your marriage appearing extremely happy at church, or your weight being that perfect size 4. Whatever the worry, it has begun to consume your thoughts throughout the day, rather than what God says should consume you.

King David worried just like we do. Psalm 13 gives an example of his worry:

Lord, how long will You forget me?

Forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

2 How long will I store up anxious concerns within me,

agony in my mind every day?

How long will my enemy dominate me?

3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.

Restore brightness to my eyes;

Otherwise, I will sleep in death.

4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”

And my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in Your faithful love;

My heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.

6 I will sing to the Lord

because He has treated me generously.

He was not immune to worry any more than we are. The difference is he shared his anxiety with the Lord and then consistently turn to the truth to bring him back to what is right, true, and real. We, at least I, tend to turn to people, self-help books, and my own knowledge to try and solve my own problems.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book Life Together (p. 43), gives excellent advice on how to combat the worries of this life:

"For Christians, the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it. Al the darkness and distraction of the dreams of night retreat before the clear light of Jesus Christ and his wakening Word... Therefore, at the beginning of the day let all distraction and empty talk be silenced and let the first thought and the first word belong to him whom our whole life belongs. 'Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light'" (Eph. 5:14).

The most challenging part of dealing with anxiety and worry can often be placing our trust in what we cannot see because we must trust Him to take care of the issues that are right in front of us that we can see, the agony that we feel right now, the pain we are currently experiencing, the stress that doesn't seem to go away. This is precisely why we must trust and turn to His Word rather than the words of our generation. For "the words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times" (Ps. 12:6). His words help us to filter out what is essential and what is not.

Bonhoeffer emphasized that "It is, in fact, more important for us to know what God did to Israel, to His Son Jesus Christ, than to seek what God intends for us today. The fact that Jesus Christ died is more important than the fact that I shall die, and the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the die and is the sole ground of my hope that I, too, shall be raised on the Las Day" (p. 54).

Focus and perspective can change everything when it comes to our mental and psychological state. Yes, sometimes there can be physiological issues at play - but regardless- there is always spiritual issues going on simultaneously. God tells each and every one of us:

28 “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

Wake up each day and give your cares and worries to Him. Spend time in His word rather than listening to the words of this generation.