What’s my point? Stop worrying about everything- that’s what.
Dare 2 Share - Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. (Matthew 6:32-33)
There once was a pilot who, while flying his single engine plane peacefully over the heartland of America, heard a strange sound which he had never heard before. Now if this happens while you’re driving a car, it’s no big deal- just whip in to the nearest mechanic and get it checked out. But when you are flying an aircraft thousands of feet above the ground at several hundred miles an hour, it’s a little bit scarier.
It gets even more frightening when you realize that the sound is probably a rat gnawing through the fuselage, and you are still two hours away from the airport.
Most people in this situation might have panicked and attempted an emergency landing in the middle of nowhere, but this particular pilot used his wits instead of bowing to worry. He remembered that rats were born to live on the ground, or under the earth- but definitely not up in the sky. So he began climbing, and continued his ascent until the nibbling noise stopped.
When he returned back to the hanger, he checked in the area where he heard the noise. Sure enough, there was a fully asphyxiated rodent with a piece of fuselage still stuck between his wicked little teeth.
What’s my point? Stop worrying about everything- that’s what. Remember what Jesus said? “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not!” (Matthew 6:26).
The way I see it, our lives are a lot like a plane flying through the air, and we are the pilots. Worry is the furry little terror trying to crash our world tour. You basically have two choices: you can panic and emergency land this wonderful experience called life in the barren fields of discouragement, or you can climb upward towards heaven through prayer. Just like the rat couldn’t take the high altitude, worry can’t take the elevated surroundings of communing with our heavenly Father.
What kinds of rodents are chewing up your sense of peace? Remember, just because you *can* worry about something doesn't mean that you should, because everyone has something to stew about:
-The young fret about the future
-The old are peeved about the past
-The sick sweat over getting well
-The healthy get the heebie-jeebies concerning sickness
And on and on…
Here’s a newsflash: no one lives in an ideal situation, and if there even was an ideal situation- what are the odds that we would be in it? And even if we did, how long would it take for us to mess it up?
Jesus has a better plan. He asks us to take life one day at a time, and if the strange sound of apprehension starts chewing away at our trust in Him, start climbing!
Questions:
1) What are the rats on your plane right now?
2) How often do you pray when you get worried about something?
3) What negative effects has worry had on your life?
