Worry Wort

I was reading about worry this week in Luke 12:22-34. One of the verses that stuck out to me was verse 26: “If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?”[1] This verse is confusing at first. It is logical that we can’t do the least bit of anything on our own, but this verse doesn’t seem to fit into the context of the passage about worrying. I looked at this verse in the New Living Translation, which reads, “And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?” [2]This makes a lot more sense, because the context of this verse is that regardless of how much we worry, we can’t make ourselves any taller. 

This semester, I have tried to worry less and keep things in perspective. Tests are just tests, not the life and death situation I used to treat them as. However, I still worry about what seems big to me. I worry about what I will do with my life. I worry about what God will ask me to do if I give my life to Him. I have learned over the past two years I've been at Union that regardless of how much I worry about the little things, the outcome will not change. I tell other people that they shouldn’t worry because it won’t change anything, but I still do. That’s not something I can stop on my own, but Jesus promised that I can do everything through Him. I need to ask His forgiveness for being a hypocritical worrier and ask Him to change me into someone who can trust Him with my entire life. This is what it comes down to for me: I haven’t trusted that God has good plans or that He will make me capable of fulfilling them. Why do you worry? Whatever the reason, God can give you freedom from worry too. All you have to do is ask.

[1]The New King James Version. (1982). (Lk 12:26). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2]Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation(Lk 12:26). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

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Jade Covel is a junior studying religion.