Anxious for Nothing
By Michelle Rayburn

I have been doing a lot more worrying lately now that I have a teenager who drives. It was much easier when all I had to worry about was an occasional scraped knee or the possible side effects of eating dirt. Now, I worry about him maneuvering a one-and-a-half ton chunk of metal down the highway with other hefty chunks of metal racing toward him, separated by mere feet as they pass. Typically, he has to endure the Spanish inquisition before heading out the door.

“Do you have the cell phone, your keys, some gas money?”

“Yes, mom.” He rolls his eyes.

“Don’t forget to turn off your headlights when you get there.”

“Sheesh, Mom.”

“Well you know what happened the last time, when you left them on…” Yes, he knows. The Jeep was so dead that my husband had to attach two batteries in order to jumpstart the thing. This after several classmates had already tried reviving it with their own rusty jalopies. This late-night post-game parking lot rescue finally prompted my husband to admit that we indeed needed a new battery. But that’s another story.

The inquisition continues. “Look both ways before backing out of the driveway.”

“And look both ways before crossing the street on my tricycle. Yes mom, I know!” Alright, he’s never said that. But I’m sure he wishes he could.

“Wear your seatbelt. And watch for icy patches! Oh, and call me when you get there.”

“I’m going to be late.” He edges toward the door.

“Well, if you’re running late, please don’t speed!”

Somehow, this routine rarely appeases my worry. In fact, it probably enhances the process of imagining all of the possible horrible things that could happen to a teen driver. So what are we to do about worry that goes beyond concern to an obsession with the “what-ifs”?

The other day I came across a passage in Luke where Jesus tells his disciples about a time that is coming when the temple will be destroyed, and false teachers will come. He warns of wars, earthquakes, famine and persecution and He says they will stand trial for following Christ. His list is enough to give me worry material for a lifetime! But then Jesus says the thing that stood out to me in this chapter; a verse that I had never noticed before.

Jesus says, “But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict” (Luke 21:14-15).

That’s it, I thought! The solution for my habit of worrying. But, could it be that simple? Make up my mind ahead of time to release the worry and leave it all in God’s hands? In Jesus’ example, His followers faced intense persecution and he promised to give them wise words to answer to the charges against them. In my own situation, I face a different accuser. Something far less sinister than the murderous tormentors of New Testament times. I face an enemy of my own making. It’s my desire to control a situation so that I might somehow force the result in my favor. As if by over-controlling the people around me, I can prevent disaster. But, that isn’t how it worked for Jesus’ followers and it won’t work for me either.

The worry habit is simply the voice of a deep-seated desire to be in control, to be in the driver’s seat myself. Instead, God asks us to toss him the keys to our lives and let him drive. He asks us to replace our habit of worrying with a new habit of making up our minds right now not to worry about what he has already promised to handle. Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us that God wants to know about our worries and in praying about them, we experience a peace that goes beyond what our minds can understand. One translation puts it, “Be anxious for nothing.”

Are you worried about what will happen when your 401K is depleted decades before you ever reach retirement? Make up your mind today not to worry about it. Are you afraid you’ll never meet Mr. or Ms. Right? Decide today to leave it in God’s hands. Does your family history of cancer have you obsessing about your health to the point of losing sleep? Make up your mind right now to trust God’s plan. He knows what he’s doing.
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Michelle is a freelance writer, speaker and musician from north central Wisconsin. She has a Master of Arts in Ministry Leadership with a pastoral counseling emphasis. To have Michelle speak or sing for your event see www.michellerayburn.com.