Worry: Distrust of providence

If believers were to undergo a worry test, nine out of 10 would test positive. Few sins and habits are harder to forsake than worry. Perhaps it is so because we worry unconsciously or we think we are justified to at least worry if we cannot do anything about a problem. Worry is a mental sin; a negative habit. It is a robber of vitality, hope and life itself. Experts in psychosomatic health conditions reveal that chronic worry or anxiety neurosis is the culprit behind numerous diseases like asthma, allergies, cardiac trouble and high blood pressure.
Since worry is a sin we need to repent of it. And since it is also a killer-disease we need to stop it. But let us first analyse it so we can identify it and combat it. Worry happens when we continue to make frantic mental efforts to find a solution to a problem that is beyond our human power to solve. It is the realisation that we are failing to find a solution to a problem that causes us to be worried. When we have no solution, fear of the worst happening comes. For instance, when you have a pile of bills to pay but you have no idea how or where you will get the money to pay them, you become anxious. Your desire to pay what you owe is in conflict with your fear of what will happen since you cannot pay.
Our cares in this world include health, finances, future security, marriage, business, relationships and the like. Worry is so subtle that we entertain it mistaking it for deep thinking. But worry is not thinking. And worry is not planning. Both right thinking and wise planning are scriptural injunctions. Worry is constantly trying to do something about something you cannot do anything about.  Ultimately, worry is having greater faith in your problem or negative outcomes than in God. It indicates a distrust in divine providence.
The first step in overcoming worry is to acknowledge your human limitations. As a human being you are limited in knowledge and in power. These limits were set by God on purpose; so that human beings will depend on God for solutions to hard and impossible situations. God knows everything and has all powers. He wants you to rely on Him for things that are beyond human knowledge and power.  This brings Him glory, honour and praise.
King Jehoshaphat was a master in this issue of separating between burdens he could carry and burdens that were too heavy for Him. When he was faced with a situation humanly insurmountable he acknowledged before God his extremity and weakness. He said, “O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help” (2 Chronicles 20:12). This is not negative confession but an acknowledgement of limitation and an expression of dependence on a higher power.
The second step is to learn to cast or throw your heavy burdens into God’s hands. God is the Supreme power; He cannot be defeated, vitiated or thwarted in any way. He is our burden-bearer. He can carry all our anxieties, cares and mental burdens. The good thing is that God is unlike beasts of burden that carry loads unwillingly or painfully.
He invites us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). When King Hezekiah received threats of destruction from an invincible Assyrian king he did not presume on things but laid the letter before God in prayer of commitment.
He cast his anxiety upon God this way: “It is true, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations … Now O Lord our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you are alone, O Lord, are God” (Isaiah 37:14-20). But remember never to take back from God any burden you have thrown into His hands.
Lastly, after you have brought your burdensome issues to God learn to wait on Him trusting that He will bring the right solution to your problems.
Do not fret or fume over the delay of the answer. You have failed on your own to proffer a solution so you have no option but to wait for the Higher Power to provide a solution in His own way and time. When you cast your burden to God, He will sustain you and will not allow anything to move you. Now be at rest child of God since you know that in all things God works for your good.
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