According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, about 18% of all Americans suffer from anxiety or depression. Most of them are women, but it is safe to say that no U.S. citizen is immune from worry.
Worry happens when concern is exaggerated. It is normal to have concerns for our children, our safety, and our livelihood. Worry occurs, along with its drastic effect on our health, when concerns become our obsession.
Jesus told us not to worry. Read Matthew 6:25-34.
What two areas of life did the people in Jesus’ day worry about?
Are you concerned about food or clothing?
Do you worry about them?
Our worries today are much different than those of the Jews listening to Jesus that day. They worried about their existence. We still worry about that, but not about what we will eat or wear. We worry about our health, our families and especially our children.
We seem to wear our worry like a badge, as if we are proud of it. Mommas often share how their grown children must call them on a daily basis to keep from worrying. I lost that opportunity. When my daughter was only 18, she left home with some not-so-good people.
I did not know where she was, and she refused to talk to me. Prior to this day, she had to check in with me every time she arrived at her destination, just so I knew she was safe. You know – that Mommy-Worry-Syndrome. Now, I would never know. At that point, the only solution was to trust God to take care of her. Otherwise, I would go crazy with worry. I was already dealing with depression stemming from the situation itself. The truth is God was in control of her safety all along. I did not totally trust Him with it.
Much of what worries us is not what is happening today, but what might happen tomorrow, next month, or next year. We even worry about things which may never happen. If a sentence begins with “What if?”, it may be an indication that you are unnecessarily worried.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt. 6:34)
This verse tells us we have ample things to be concerned about today. Don’t borrow trouble from tomorrow. Tomorrow may never come, and the trouble you expect may never happen.
The point of this entire passage is that God loves us. Since God loves us, He will provide for us. Jesus uses the flowers and birds as examples. He says we are more valuable to God than the birds and flowers.
Meditate on that for a while. We are valuable to our heavenly Father. God cares for the birds and wildflowers that are of little value to Him. Think what He will provide for His children!
Why waste time in worry, when worry can be conquered with time in prayer.
Father, forgive us for not fully trusting You. Help us learn to rely on You and cast our worries upon You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
A Mountain of Faith 
It is very interesting that you believe that spirituality will incline people to recover from mental illnesses. I have clinical depression, misophonia, ED and PTSD. Maybe I should turn my problems over to God like you recommend. Hang in there xx
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I did not intend to imply that spirituality will heal mental illness. I was speaking primarily of worry. I also have clinical depression, and despite how close someone is to God, they can still be very depressed and feel He is a million miles away. Yes, God helps, greatly, but some of us still need meds from a dr. An author who writes much about this is Dr. Michelle Bengtson and you can google her web site and book “Hope Prevails”. You are in my prayers!
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