Worry

Worry. That word brings so much to people. None of which is good. As a teen, I can tell you that worry is one of the most destructive forces in the world. It brings pain, fear, doubt, and in some cases death to families. I have many friends in high school who worry about school work, friends, and relationships. I know some adults who worry about work, providing for their families, and money. I've been surrounded by worry my whole life as it is prevalent in my family. Worry almost ruined me.
But how can something like worry cause all this? Easy. But first I must tell what the Bible says about it. Matthew 6:25-34 says,

"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 important that food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all the things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

If you still do not see how worry can cause all the things I said, then I will explain. Take a man with a wife and kids, who works long and hard to provide for his family. Add these hard economic times, and worry will surely form in the man's mind of whether or not he will be able to keep providing. To make the money for food, clothing, housing, and other necessities. Eventually this worry turns to fear. This fear can then cause stress at work, which can come back home with him. Eventually, he begins to let it out against his wife and kids. And he in turn, destroys the very thing he worried about keeping, with the product of his worry. Or other times, it could drive a spouse into the arms of another person that they have come to know. Or it could drive them to drink, gamble, or some other addiction.
But adults are not the only ones. Teens have many troubles with stress caused by their worries. They worry about home work, relationships, friends, and especially how they look to the other teens in their lives. They worry about how they dress and act around each other. They worry about getting good grades. They worry about what their girl friend or boy friend thinks of them, and sometimes go to sinful lengths to keep from losing them or to please them. Others worry about sports. These worries can easily turn to fears and drive the youth to drugs, alcohol, violence(to others and to themselves), and many times suicide. Because the fears from their worries turn into stress and self doubt. But something that happens among Christian teens is what brings sadness to me. When the teen starts to worry, and then fear, and then stress, and end up in one of these situations, or if their parents worry, and stress and abuse them emotionally of physically, they begin asking the question, "God why are you letting this happen?" And soon that question turns into, "How can there be a God who loves me if this is happening to me?" Their worries turn to doubt in their faith. If you don't realize how real this is, statistics say that 3 of every 4 Christian teens stop being a Christian by the time they reach college. 3 of every 4! Do you see what worrying can cause?! Do you see how real it is?! It needs to stop!

But in that same passage, God tells us that we don't need to worry. He tells us that He will provide for us. All we have to do chase after Him. But if that is hard to believe, I'll give you another reason. Exodus 9:15-23 says,

On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted above from the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at His command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord's order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord's command they woud encamp, and then at His command they would set out. Sometimes the cloud only stayed from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. At the Lord's command they encamped, and at the Lord's command they set out. They obeyed the Lord's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

Why would I mention this? In fact why would this even be metioned in the Bible? It is mentioned because it sybolizes life. We are the Israelites, and the cloud represents the events God has planned in our lives. God set up our WHOLE lives. You see, God planned our whole lives already. You might say, "Just because He planned out our whole lives doesn't mean it's a good thing." Well Jeremiah 29:11 answers that one. It says,

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

So not only did God already plan your life, but the plans are to make your life wonderful. To make you prosper. But even to this you might say, "I have seen many Christians follow God their whole lives and not gain anything." But they did gain something. They gained riches beyond our belief. They gained eternal life in Heaven with God Himself! That is the ultimate form of properance! That is what you gain from living without worry. But not only that. I can tell you myself that I do not worry as much as most people I know. In fact, I don't really worry at all. And my life has improved beyond belief from it. I feel so much better than I used to, and I have much more time than I did before. And God has shown me much more.
But, to this you say, "Easier said than done." I won't lie, it is hard. But not impossible. This is how I know. When I was young, in 5th grade, I wasn't exactly what you would call skinny. I was overweight for my age. My parents would tell me it was normal to be "big" at that age. But I knew I was fat. And the other kids let me know that everyday. Especially the 13 year old in my 5th grade class. I also had bad teeth. My front teeth were crooked so I looked like a beaver and I got the name bucky. I found out that I was being moved into a homeschooling program called Heritage Christian School. I would be homeschooled, and every 2nd and 4th Tuesday I would go to school with other homeschooled kids and our moms would be the teachers. So it was a whole group of kids that didn't know me. And I began to worry that the same thing would happen again here. So I changed my image and became something I wasn't. And I had the constant worry that the other kids would figure it out. Eventually I became stressed out about it.
At that point God decided to tell me something was wrong. I began getting what felt like shocks in my legs. At first they didn't bother me. But then they started getting worse and worse. So I started going to the doctor. They ordered blood tests and an MRI. But everything came back negative. And I began worrying about the shocks themselves. They started to get really bad. I began falling down. I even fell down the stairs a couple times. So what did I do? I delved into video games. And I ignored it completely and just went into my own world. And they went away.
I lived like that until the summer after 7th grade when I went to camp with my church and really saw who God was. But when I went home, I went back into the pattern after a while. After one week of being back in school, my grandfather went to the hospital. His cancer came back. And so did my stress, and the shocks. My grandfather was 72, and refused chemotherapy. So I watched my grandfather, my hero, get sicker and sicker in his bed as he slowly died. And I wondered, "Where is God?" When my grandfather passed things were less than perfect in my life. And I went back to ignoring the world in my video games and the computer. And it was like that for another year.
I started high school, and almost the exact same time as my grandfather's death a year ago, my dad had a heart attack. It was minor, but then we found out that we were a week away from losing him if he hadn't gone to the hospital. But this time, I turned to God. I asked Him to help me. And throughout the whole thing, I didn't worry or fear or stress. It was gone, and was replaced with something that I couldn't quite figure out. I talked to my youth pastor, who helped me through it and got me to read my Bible a little more. 2 months after I started reading my Bible, I opened this blog. And ever since, I haven't worried. And if I start to worry, I pray, and I read, and it dissapears.
I'll tell you now that this is only half of what I went through at the time. But do to some people's privacy I won't say. Nonetheless, it was only half of the things that have happened in my life and the effects of my worries.
My journey to a worry free life has been long and hard. I ignored my life and my family. I even became physically ill from my stress. But I reached the place God wanted me to. And it is SO worth it! My life is so much more gratifying and joyful now! But, if you caught on, I said I had a whole bunch of new time and empty places where the worry once was. So, what replaced it? Joy.
James 1:2 says,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develpos perseverance.

John 3;16 says,

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

That joy, was also the feeling I had throughout the time of my dad's heartattack. The joy in knowing that no matter what happens here on earth, I have a whole eterinty waiting for me in Heaven with God. Now if you remember what I said earlier you should notice something interesting. The reason to not worry is that God planned at the beginning that we would have eternal life with Him in heaven, when you truely believe that, your worry dissapears and is replaced with pure joy. That is how it works. And thatis the only way! God is the only thing you can replace your worry with! The only thing! You can't keep worrying, but you also can't ignore the things that cause it. You can't! Only God can help you with that. And He will if you let Him.
And what can you do with all the new time you gain? Romans 12:1 says,

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.

Spend your new time reading God's Word and sharing it with others. I can tell you from experience that it is rewarding. That God will show you so much, and teach you things you couldn't imagine! Spend that time serving instead of worrying. I promise you that if you really do it, that you'll find it impossible to not serve Him!
Now remember in Matthew it says that God will provide on His own, so instead when you pray, do not ask for things, or health, or to even take care of someone sick, for that in itself shows you're worried about it. Matthew 6:9-13 says,

"This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'"

First you praise God for all he does, and you ask that whatever His plan may be, that we follow it and do what He planned in the beginning. Serving Him throughout our lives no matter what happens, and having joy.
Now understand that the daily bread, is not actually food, or clothing or money, but what is necsesary for life. And that is the wisdom and knowledge of God. James 1:5 says,

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

We need wisdom and knowledge to live. Because the life I'm talking about is not here on earth, NO! It is our eternal life in Heaven with God! That is our daily bread.
Next we ask God to forgive our sins, and to help us forgive others for their sins.
And last we ask God to give us strength to turn away from temptations and sins.

We should live, worship, and pray without worry, otherwise we can never truely trust or believe in God when we do it. So remember, that you have no control over anything because it was all planned in the beginning and no amount of worrying will change it. So don't worry about money, things, work, what others think, your health, or even those who are closest to you. God has his own plans for all of that. And He has His own plans for you. So in the meantime, be joyful, worship God, share God, and don't worry.

Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen