wolf

Worry has always come easily for me. I’ve never even really thought that much about it. It has always seemed like just a part of daily living. I looked up the definition of worry and a few of the definitions really stuck out to me.

  • to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.
  • to seize, especially by the throat, with the teeth and shake or mangle, as one animal does another.
  • to harass by repeated biting, snapping, etc.

When we worry we are literally tormenting ourselves. So why do we do it? I wish I knew a complete answer to this question. I intend to share more and more in the future on this as I grow but I do have a couple ideas.

1. I can figure things out on my own

I tend to put way too much stock in my own mental ability. A lot of times I don’t ask for help from people or from God because I think I don’t need anyone. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Each of us have an incredibly limited perspective and God is the only one who isn’t limited by anything. Truly understanding this would lead us to turning our cares and worries over to him (1 Peter 5:7) as he is the only one without a limited view. Other people can also give us great insight regarding our challenges if we will just be humble enough to ask for help.

2. I love control

I don’t totally understand the correlation yet but worry and control go hand in hand. Somehow by worrying I feel that I’m in control and to surrender worry feels a little scary. This is probably all in my head but I’m just trying to be transparent about the struggle.

There is a lot more to be said about how destructive worry is but this is a topic that I will revisit in the future as I get more clarity. Let’s go back to the definition for just a moment. To worry is to torment yourself. It’s like having ferocious animals snap at you all the time but you’re the one causing them to do it! When it comes to issues like jealousy, envy or anger, I’m very quick to acknowledge the problem and deal with it but for some reason worry has always flown under the radar. I’ve always seen it as a rather benign issue but not anymore. It is a cancer that slowly eats away at the joy and goodness in our lives and we need to fight it. Bottom line…it’s not how we’re supposed to live. It is a serious problem and we must stand against it.