Don't Worry, Be Happy!

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?"
~Luke 12:25

We worry. A lot. People worry about their spouses, kids, jobs, bills, their health, car repairs, getting someplace on time...and the list goes on. In fact, studies show we spend nearly seven years of our lives worrying!

According to WebMD, excessive worrying causes a host of physical and psychological problems such as high anxiety and social disorders. Anxiety releases cortisol and triglycerides into the bloodstream, which raises blood sugar levels. In turn, these stressors can cause irritability, headaches, naseau, muscle tension, short term memory loss, digestive issues, coronary artery disease, and even heart attacks. So instead of solving anything by worrying, we actually create new problems.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25)."

Jesus tells us not to worry about our daily lives because there is much more to life than our physical needs. Our spiritual lives need to be fed much more than our physical.  'Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35).'

Our lives, apart from Jesus become unmanageable. We begin to worry about things that we either can control, cannot control, or try to control. Our worry leads to anxiety and anxiety leads to more and more stress, which leads to depression and on to a host of physical and mental ailments, until eventually, worry has taken over our lives, yet our lives have not changed.

On the other hand, a life that blossoms out of our relationship with Jesus Christ is free from worry, free from stress, and free from anxiety. Our health flourishes, our lives flourish, and we have all that we need both physically and emotionally.

In this world there is enough trouble to last a lifetime -- several lifetimes -- and worrying about it isn't going to change any of it. When we truly believe that God is in control, then we will know that there is nothing here to worry about and we will have peace in our lives that can only come from Jesus Christ.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27)."