There are varying degrees of worry, some worries are subtle while other items we worry about can be crippling. I worry sometimes, I do, and that is the truth. And so do you. But, the new normal for me is that I typically get over it within an hour, sometimes just a few minutes. But this took A LOT of practice, training my mind, and focusing the eyes of my heart on something better. Nevertheless, I still occasionally worry.
Something’s coming. Doesn’t it always feel like that? Maybe it’s something financial . . . maybe work-related . . . maybe health-related . . . definitely bad. And so, we worry.
Letting go of worry can be very difficult. But we shouldn’t approach it just intellectually, but practically as well. You cannot simply command yourself to “worry less.” That’s not going to work very well, yet this is something the 21st century man tries to do.
You must get practical by actually talking about worries with a spouse, a friend, with Christian brothers in community. Earlier this week, I shared concerns I have with a brother. I let it all out, he didn’t need to respond, he just listened. What happened? After 20 minutes, I was at peace.
That does work as we can see in 2 Corinthians 12:9.
2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness. Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”
But there is something about being vulnerable that stops a man in his tracks. Being vulnerable and sharing worries doesn’t feel right, that it’s not masculine. But the truth is that getting your worries out into the open is just as powerful as it is counterintuitive. So, brother, defy your instincts.
Our instincts tell is that it’s just a part of being a man, worrying about what’s coming. We worry about all the bad things that could happen, to us and to our loved ones. We scheme and we plan how to get out in front of all the things that worry us, and if we can’t come up with a plan, we suddenly feel helpless. Then we worry more.
All of this worrying hangs over our lives. It haunts our thoughts and steals important moments—moments that should be joy-filled.
But, it would be irresponsible not to worry, wouldn’t it? We’ve been trained to worry, all our lives. We’ve been trained that men with responsibilities are supposed to worry. It’s part of manhood.
Or is it? Jesus teaches us that it’s actually not. Jesus didn’t come so that we’d live lives haunted by fear, He came and died to set us free, “or freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1).
Jesus assures us that our Father will take care of us, whether we worry or not, “And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?” (Matthew 6:27).
We must, therefore, adopt a new and radical mindset: “We don’t know what’s coming . . . but our Father God does. So, we’ll leave it to him.”