You Don't Have To Worry

We have a large round-top window in our master bedroom. One spring a few years ago, we were awakened by something that hit the window early in the morning. We didn't know what was happening. Trying to roll over and get some needed sleep, we heard another thud on the window. Then another. We got up and took a look. It was a robin, who kept flying into the window. Why would this songbird do this? Was he suicidal? Stupid? Blind? We were not sure. A sleepy search of the internet was later confirmed by the animal control officer. This was a male robin guarding a nearby nest. He saw his reflection in the window and thought that another robin was threatening his tree house. He kept up, relentlessly flying into the window. In reality, he was only fighting against himself. When you fight against yourself, you are evenly matched. The key was he had to stop just seeing himself. Worry is an epidemic in our world today. Worry causes stress, anxiety and depression. We live in the Age of Anxiety. The breakdown of faith in God and in reason coupled with the accelerated pace and high tension of modern life have produced intense anxiety in many millions of people, so much so, in fact, that it would be correct to call worry one of the most widespread and debilitating ailments of our time. In the NT, worry implies "having a divided mind." It is a fight against yourself. The war does not easily end. Like the robin you can only see yourself and you imagine problems that do not exist. "Worry is an old man with bended head, carrying a load of feathers which he thinks are lead." It is all a distraction from our devotion to God. Thank God that Jesus Christ can transform our worry into worship!