“Don’t Worry, Be Happy”

Bobby McFerrin was a one hit wonder back in 1988. It was the first accapella song to reach the number one spot on Billboard’s top 100 chart, and it held for 2 weeks. (And no honey, I didn’t pull that from the part of my brain that remembers stuff…..I had to look it up) Here is an excerpt of the lyrics:

Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy……

Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry don’t do it, be happy
Put a smile on your face
Don’t bring everybody down like this
Don’t worry, it will soon past
Whatever it is
Don’t worry, be happy

You can ask my husband; I worry about everything. I worry about money, whether I am a good mom, a good pastor’s wife, a good daughter. But most of all I worry that I will not make God happy. And I realize that God looks down on me for worrying and sends me trials and blessings to make me realize that all I have to do is trust COMPLETELY in Him and all my worries will go away. This is one thing my husband has trouble drilling into my head. Not to worry! As I was working on my discipleship lesson today I realized that we are not much different from God’s people back in Biblical times. We still try to do things in our own time and in our own way. This, my friends, is my greatest struggle with day-to-day life.

Richard’s philosophy is if we NEED money for something, God will provide it. If we NEED to take a vacation God will provide a way. If we NEED a new car God will see that we get one. And although I do agree with that ……sometimes I just WANT things in my time, not God’s time. Here are some truths that God has revealed to me this week.

Don’t worry about things that have already happened. Reader’s Digest (which I read in a doctor’s office this week) that “most worries are reruns.” Why worry about the past? Things can’t be changed, food can’t be uncooked, decisions can’t be undone, words can’t be taken back….etc. Paul learned to put the past behind him. In Philippians 3:13-14 he says, “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”. If sin is involved, we should cleanse it in Jesus’s blood and then go on.

Worrying about things that MUST happen. All the worry in the world cannot change some things for they will happen anyway. We are all going to die; we are all going to make mistakes; so why worry about it and why not just let it happen? Worrying about it isn’t gonna change the outcome. Things still have to happen.

Then comes my worst feeling. I can’t even enjoy things when they are good because I know things will get bad and it will not be long before I have to worry again. They say 85% of what we worry about might happen…never happen. So why waste time? Time should be invested in working for God’s Kingdom instead of worrying.

We must learn to concentrate on today instead of worrying about yesterday or tomorrow. In Philippians it tells us to forget things of the past (3:13) and in Matthew it tells us not to worry about tomorrow (6:34), so that only leaves today. Yesterday is like a canceled check; tomorrow is like a promissory note. Today is “same as cash”! Would you spend cash loosely? No, we take care as to how we spend our cash. So why not take care of how we spend today?

God wants us to walk in the light He gives us and not to worry about the darkness ahead. When we get there, He will be there waiting for us and providing a way for us to get through it. God’s light ALWAYS overpowers the darkness. We just have to be willing to let His light shine. It is kind of like headlights on a car. When we are driving at night and our destination is 100 miles ahead, the lights do not light the whole way…..they only shine a few feet in front of the vehicle so we can see the way. As we move forward the light moves forward and stays ahead of us. God’s light works the same way helping us live one day at a time.

A minute of prayer is better than an hour of worrying. Jesus spent an entire night praying but never spent one minute worrying. His example is worthy of imitation.

Worried? Let God handle it.