What Are You Worried About?
By Rick Warren

Two businessmen were talking about the economic recession. Jack said,
"I'm about to lose my job and our house is in foreclosure - but I don't
worry about it." Bob, his friend, asked "How can you not be worried?"
Jack answered, "I've hired a professional worrier. He does all my
worrying for me. That way I don't have to think about it!" Bob
replied, "That's a fantastic idea. How much does it cost to hire a
professional worrier?" "$50,000 a year," Jack answered. "$50,000!
Where are you going to get that kind of money?" Jack replied, "I don't
know. That's HIS worry!"

WORRY IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED TO DO. There is no such thing as a
"born
worrier." It is a learned response to life. You learned to worry from
two sources:

You learned to worry from experience. After years of mistakes,
failures
and unfulfilled expectations, you've discovered that things don't
always
turn out right. Out of these experiences you formed the habit of
worrying.
You learned to worry from examples. There are many models around you.
Studies show that children usually pick up their parent's worries.
Anxious parents raise anxious kids.

The good news is that since worry is a learned response to life it can
be unlearned! The starting point for overcoming worry is to realize it
is useless. It does you no good to worry. It is "stewing without
doing." Worry has never changed anything. Worry cannot change the
past. Worry cannot control the future. Worry only makes you miserable
today.

Worry has never solved a problem, never paid a bill, never cured an
illness. It only paralyzes you so you can't work on the solution.
Worry is like racing a car engine in neutral - it doesn't get you
anywhere, it just uses up gas. "An anxious heart weighs a man down."
Pr. 12:25

On top of that, worry exaggerates the problem. It plays on your
imagination. Have you ever noticed that when you worry about a problem
it gets bigger? Every time you repeat if over and over in your mind
you
tend to add details - amplifying it so you feel worse.

What's the solution? Instead of worrying, talk to God about what's
worrying you. He is someone who can do something about it.

"Don't worry about anything. Instead pray about everything; tell God
what you need and don't forget to thank him for his answers. If you do
this you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than
the human mind can understand." Phil. 4:6-7




IF YOU SPENT AS MUCH TIME PRAYING AS YOU DO WORRYING -
YOU'D HAVE A LOT LESS TO WORRY ABOUT!