"Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:6-7
None at all. None. Have no worry, no anxiety at all. It's hard to imagine a life free of worry, but that is what Paul wants us to do. Banish worry. Throw worry out the window. Worry and anxiety have no place in our lives. Get rid of it. Paul tells us this bluntly, directly, and with no ambiguity.
Worry is like cancer. It eats away at our serenity, our sense of ourselves, our wholeness. Worry is a violent destroyer. The reason for this is both simple and frightening. Worry is fear - but far on the offensive. Worry is not passive. Worry attacks and pursues. Worry is the guest we put up for a night who turns out to be a serial killer. Worry is fear that we invite into our lives and nourish.
Worry attacks us where we live. That is why it is so damaging. The root of worry is our awareness - a false awareness as it turns out - that we know how things ought to be. We all have created plans and drawings for the architecture of our lives. Worry is what happens when the plans - for whatever reason - are not working out. When the workers don't show up, when the supplies are delayed, when the foundation caves in, and when a hurricane breaks all the windows - when that happens in the architecture of our lives, that's when we worry.
We are left with one infallible fact. Worry will definitely and without doubt make everything worse. Worry is a bad response to disaster because worry saps our strength and assures us that we will deal with the disaster badly. Worry assures us that we will make the wrong decisions or take the wrong course.
Don't worry about money, don't worry about family, and don't worry about your job. Don't worry about anything. Don't worry at all.
Jesus, give us whatever we need to eliminate fear and worry and doubt. They work against your grace and they set up barriers to your gift of life. Help us be rid of them and help us replace them with wonderful hope.
by Father Harry Cronin, C.S.C.
5 comments:
Really needing to hear this right now. Thanks!
Like Debbie B. said, I really needed to hear this right now too.
Thank you for the reminder along with the encouragement.
With the possibility of something still being wrong with my back, it is easy to let my imagination go wild, which always leads to worry.
Have a blessed day, Tracey!
Amy:)
What a great reminder...Hope you have a blessed day! I hope your school year is going smoothly!
Your Secret Blog Pal
This couldn't come at a better time for me...thanks!
That is SO true.
I think all of life can be handled as long as you attack it with optimism and faith. When we don't hand things over to God, things go wrong.
You know what I've always found weird about Jesus' "Do not worry"? It's actually a command. We think of it as advice--do this and your life will go better--but if you look at it, it's a command.
As in worry is a sin. Yikes. Now I'm really worried :).
Visit To Love, Honor and Vacuum today!
Post a Comment