Not long I was having a conversation with a loved one. Her husband has an inoperable aneurism in his brain that, if it grows to a certain size, could burst. Of course, the scenario looks bleak if it does burst. My loved one is a Christian. She told me that she can’t sleep at night because she is worried it will burst and he will die. Obviously, that’s concerning – but worry and concern are two different things. I said to her… Is your security in Jesus or in your husband? By asking this question, I wanted her to evaluate if she was worried or just concerned… because worry is detrimental to anyone’s health.
As I reflected upon what Peter said in 1 Peter, I thought about all of us. Here’s the thing… the Bible calls us sheep, not donkeys, horses, or camels. Obviously, we know that some animals are equipped to carry heavy loads on their backs. But not sheep. Sheep are helpless animals that depend totally upon their shepherd. Your Good Shepherd wants you to bring all those things weighing you down and lay them at His feet. Those things that keep you awake at night. Those things that are getting extremely heavy.
We may not even know if we’re carrying worries. A good way to evaluate is ask yourself… Am I always thinking about the What ifs? What if my daughter gets hooked up with the wrong person? What if these physical symptoms turn out to be something horrible? What if something happens to my grandson when he’s out on the road? What if I lose my job… then what? What if I am blasted by speaking truth? There’s nothing wrong with the question What if? But if you are always asking that question because you are constantly thinking of the worse case scenario, then worry has captured your heart.
Jesus asked, “Can worrying add a single moment to your life” (Matthew 6:27)? Worrying leads to stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, and dark thoughts. And these things can be detrimental to our health, our outlook, our perspective, and our peace. Worrying robs us of joy. I believe that the Lord is telling us here in 1 Peter that if we get in the habit of giving our worries over to Him, then we will fare so much better. He can handle the weight, not us. It may be a struggle breaking free from worry because it’s in your DNA. It’s what was passed on to you. But start with the biggest worry you have right now… the thing that has you undone. Go before the Lord and say out loud to Him… “Lord, I give ____________ to you.” And if you need to, keep doing it until the weight is lifted and it’s no longer a worry. If I can do it, you can too.