Now! Worry Power.
Have you ever considered how much energy it takes to worry about things? If I could harness the power of worry, the energy demands of the world could be met with supplies left over. How do you measure a unit of worry anyway? Would 1 minute of worry produce 1 watt of electricity? After all, we all worry about things that really don’t amount to much more than a pile of dog poo. I say we harness the power of worry and at least get something useful out of it.
I really don’t worry about too much. I used to be one of those smile on the outside and worry on the inside kind of people. I was reminded this past weekend of a time in my life where I was so sick with worry that I nearly slipped into depression… really. I was telling Rhonda about the experience that just about broke me. I prayed to God that He open a door and help me find joy… in whatever form it would arrive… I would accept.
He did.
I never want to return to that place again… and I never will. Worry… is about as useless as anything I can define. I actually have to pray for patience when I am in the presence of worriers. SO… rather than dwell on the worry of life… why not harness the power and make electricity?
Let’s all agree for the sake of example that 1 minute of worry produced 1 watt of electricity. How many appliances could you run in your home with the amount of worry you generate? I’ll go first. Depending on the day, I could probably light up a lamp. Whereas I do despise worrying… I am human… I do worry about a few things.
What about you? Could you run a refrigerator? A fan? A Hot water heater? What about an air conditioner? Sounds silly doesn’t it? For the sake of argument, here is a list of appliances at their wattage ratings:
laptop – 20-50w = about 45 minutes of worry
Coffee pot – 200w = 3 hours of worry
Shaver – 15w = 15 minutes of worry
Clock radio – 1w = 1 minute of worry
central AC – 3000w = 50 hours of worry
Dishwaher – 1200 = 20 hours of worry
You may think… I don’t worry that much!! Really? Naturally, I would create a way to store the worry energy for later use. How long have you been worried about your job? Your finances? Your relationship with your spouse? Your child? Your church? Your faith? These things last a lifetime for some people.
At what point do you figure it all out? I’m going to let you in on a little secret… some things are not for you to figure out. Stop worrying. Christ tells us that worrying about this life will not add another day to it. In fact, I guarantee it will take a day or two away from your life.
Enjoy what God has created… and enjoy being created! Pray hard… work hard… Love hard… and rest long. If you are worried about something you cannot control, you are trying to do God’s job (of which you are certainly not qualified). If you are worried about something you can control… either do something about it or move on.
Meanwhile… I’ll be perfecting my formula for turning worry into something productive. At least if you are going to worry… maybe you can make it productive for someone else.
May you rest in God today… and realize that joy comes in so many different packages. Seek God first and His ways… and all the other stuff will be added to you. Don’t worry about tomorrow… today has enough trouble for you of its own. Go read Matthew Chapter 6 and see what Christ had to say about worry.
Peace,
Greg
Acts 4:31
Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight. 
Comments
Greg you are right on today.
1. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?
2. Who of you have worrying so much that you think you have taken a year or so off your life? Who of you have taken an hour off your spouse’s life by worrying?
3. Is there anything more valuable to you than staying alive? Will worrying contribute more that you value than your life?
So why in the world would we worry? The problem is simple you worry about what you value most. So the man that came up with these questions – Jesus said, “The things that we are most devoted to are the things we worry about.” You see I don’t worry about your retirement. I am not devoted to your retirement program. These things you most worry about are the things that reflect your core devotions. So if we know this how cane we redirect the things that are what we are devoted to. These are not my thoughts but they are good things to think about. Some 2000 years ago Jesus talked about these things. What if you shifted your devotion? What would your worry do?
Matthew 6: 24-34
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Do Not Worry 25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]? 28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Worry – God loves you more than the birds of the air, the flowers in the field and they are taken care of. So don’t you think God will take care of you. Some people might say then I don’t care about anything. Jesus is not saying don’t care. What he is saying is do all you can and leave the rest to God. He will take care of you. Do not dismiss you responsibility they are equally important. Do all you can then TRUST God to do the rest.
The number 1 thing in the Bible that Jesus talks about other than love is money. So in the above passage he launches the discussion in the contexts of money. In the US the number 1 thing that people worry about especially right now is MONEY. This is because of this current economics crisis. So lets look at where we place our devotion. To live Bold we need to learns to live life to the fullness by becoming a follower – or disciple – of Jesus. I am sure that this will shift our devotion to worry. Greg you on right on target… Andy Stanley just finished a 3 part series on Worry – Part 1 http://www.northpointministries.org/player/player.jsp?occurrenceID=3352
Main page of messages http://www.northpoint.org/messages much of my blog is his ideas above.
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