Sunday, March 15, 2009

What do I have to be anxious about?

How can any of us avoid becoming anxious these days if we attempt to remain informed by watching or reading the news? Much of the time, I don’t even know what all of it means. When the newscaster announces that the Dow Jones is down by two hundred points, I have no idea how to translate that information. But some how, I have been conditioned to believe that whatever it means, it is awful, dreadful news!

It’s not that the bleak economic state of our country (and the world) is of no concern for me. I am currently looking for employment. Each day, I spend earnest moments in prayer, reminding God that I depend on him for my daily bread and a job that will provide it.

But lately, it occurred to me that much of the anxiety I feel is based on an illusion. I worry about not having enough money to pay our bills, but today we have enough money. I worry about not being able to purchase items that we need for our livelihood, but today we have everything we need.

So, why do I feel so uneasy when the source of my apprehension is fabricated? It is totally based in an imagined future that doesn’t even exist. My worry is over things that “could” or “might” be, but nothing that actually is!

As I was driving to a friend's house yesterday, I began to have a robust conversation with God and live in the NOW of His goodness. As I did, I realized that I lacked absolutely nothing. Immediately, I started counting my blessings—the many real, absolute, tangible earmarks of God’s goodness to me!

So I ask myself; what do I have to be anxious about? Something that doesn’t even exist?!

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