Worry loves to fight for my brain the first moment of the day.
If the externals are bright, my brain rings peace.
But, if the externals are scary, my brain goes off like a cat in a hen house!
Jeffrey Weiss, a business reporter for the Dallas Morning News, recently died of brain cancer.
One of his last columns made me curious about his approach to freaking nerves.
Solution #1 for worry
Weiss turned to an unlikely source for his worries.
“Do not worry at being worried; but accept worry peacefully. Difficult but not impossible.” John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed
Accept worry peacefully. I like that! But how?
The stoics believed it’s reasonable to accept worrisome events calmly.
“Nothing else is the cause of anxiety or loss of tranquility except our own opinion.” Epicetus
But, I wonder if self-discipline . . .
- calms the worry of a life altering medical diagnosis
- calms the worry of losing money in a financial crisis
I don’t know many folks who can conjure up that kind of calm. Do you?
Solution #2 for worry
Another quote from our apple evangelist appeals to higher power.
“Pray as you can, not as you can’t.” Johnny Appleseed
Admittedly, when my life hangs in the balance, I don’t want to hang on to the words of Johnny Appleseed.
But, I like this quote because its a reminder that prayer is your release of control to God.
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke 18:38
Another prayer I love for worry is from King David.
Since worry hits a peak at night, David’s words capture God’s presence in darkness.
“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalm 63:6-8
Images of the Almighty, of course, are numerous throughout the Bible.
This one depicts God’s presence holding you even in fright.
Your scary event may not be gone.
But, God holds you if you let Him.
Cling to Him. Trust Him.
And please share this post with someone in need.
Outstanding post! From Hamiltons
Thank you Hamiltons! Steve
Steve I found this to be one of your greatest blogs…
We all worry. To accept it peacefully does require Gods grace. It is too difficult to achieve on our own.
Stacey
Stacey, Just seeing your comment about the difficulty of worrying by ourselves is freeing. We need God and we need each other. It’s so much better that way, isn’t it? Thanks for your input! Steve
Steve,
Thanks for your amazing words.
Steve
Steve, I greatly appreciate your kind thought. Steve
“Accept worry peacefully” is fantastic advice. Thank you, Steve. How many times has it been suggested to us; “Don’t worry about it!” I completely agree that it is simply better to accept that we will worry, but do so in a manner that does not debilitate us.
Great thought to start my day.
Thanks again!
Matt, Thanks for sharing. It’s great to hear from you in the blog! Steve