Why do we worry?

Have you ever wondered about this - why do we worry? Did you know that God commands us in the Bible to not worry or be anxious for anything? He COMMANDS us to NOT worry... does that mean that by worrying, we are sinning? I guess so!

I am a worry-wart. Anyone who knows me - knows this about me. I worry about the weather, I worry about my daughter, I worry about my husband and his long travels to and from work and my friends and extended family. I worry about a lot of things. But lately, I have been reflecting upon this and trying to figure out why I worry so much.

The Bible tell us in Phil. 4:6 "Don't worry about anything.. instead, pray about everything, Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He has done." Then in Matt. 6:34 Jesus tells us, "Don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring it's own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Boy - how true is that statement!

We have enough things to worry about in the NOW... why do we worry about the things for tomorrow... ?? Isn't that such a useless waste of energy. Instead, we need to learn to focus that energy on God. Instead of worrying about the things that we cannot change - we need to begin to focus on the things that God is doing for us right now and rejoice and be thankful for the blessings in our lives. Sometimes, our lives are so laced with worry - we forget about focusing on what really matters.

I read an article today in a publication called.. "The word for you today". It is a daily journal I receive in the mail at work. I tell ya - the signs that God gives to us are SO CLEAR when our minds are open and when we have our thoughts on Him only... Just as I was thinking about these things over the past week, the FIRST daily journal I read in my new summer publication was entitled "Understanding Worry." It was a God thing, I'm telling ya... Here is a segmant from my reading:

-----What's making you worry? Take a closer look and you'll probably find yourself doing the folllowing things:

1.) Adding unneccessary pressures.
2.) Leaving God out of the equation.
3.) Dividing life into the secular and the scared.

When I read this, I discovered that to worry IS to sin. If God commands us NOT to worry and we continue to worry - than we continue to sin. By worrying only means that we must not be truly following Christ. Friendship with God is built by sharing ALL of life experiences with Him and trusting in His will for your life. We need to be able to give up the worry and to be able to surrender our entire existance to Him.

"Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart (not just the part of you that doesn't worry) and lean not on your own understanding (it's not what I want, it's Gods will) in all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Pr. 3:5-6.

When we surrender everything to Him and let HIM have HIS way in our life - we can finally understand what it's like to lead a worry-free life!

I'm on board - are YOU?