The Answer To Worry
Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.
Psalm 89:9
Worry,” Vince Havner said, “is like sitting in a rocking chair. It will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.” Worry and anxiety have hounded the human race since the beginning of time, and modern man with all his innovations has not found the cure for the plague of worry.
Physicians tell us that 70 percent of all illnesses are imaginary, the cause being mental distress or worry. In reading hundreds of letters from people with spiritual problems, I am convinced that high on the list is the plague of worry. It has been listed by heart specialists as the number one cause of heart trouble.
Psychiatrists tell us that worry breeds nervous breakdowns and mental disorders. Worry is more adept than Father Time in etching deep lines into the face. It is disastrous to health, robs life of its zest, crowds out constructive, creative thinking, and cripples the soul.
When Sir Walter Raleigh was burdened with a huge debt, his doctor said to him one day: “Sir Walter, if you don’t stop worrying, you will die.” He looked up sadly, and said: “I can’t help worrying as long as that debt is over my head. It may kill me, but you might as well tell my cook to order the water in the kettle not to boil as to command my brain not to worry.”
What is the answer? The hymn writer Edward Henry Bickersteth hinted at it when he wrote: “Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.”
The sea was beating against the rocks in huge, dashing waves. The lightning was flashing, the thunder was roaring, the wind was blowing; but the little bird was asleep in the crevice of the rock, its head serenely under its wing, sound asleep. That is peace—to be able to sleep in the storm! In Christ, we are relaxed and at peace in the midst of confusions, bewilderments, and perplexities of this life. The storm rages, but our hearts are at rest. We have found peace because we have learned to trust our living God.
Our Father and our God, I rest in You, and I take shelter from the stress and frustrations of my life. Bless me, Father, with Your constant peace of mind and calmness of soul. Without You I will surely be overwhelmed by life. But with You I am safe, I am at peace, and I can rest. Thank You, through Your Son. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).