How much time do you spend worrying about tomorrow?
Hopefully none, but if you do fret about the future, now is a good time to replace that worry with trust.
Worry is fear. It denies God’s omnipresent goodness. It is a blind eye to God’s good at hand. It is a cold shoulder to the blessings that pour forth freely and abundantly from God when they are needed.
Worry is illness of mortal mind. It is a lacking state of thought, unhealthy to indulge. It is an enemy to progress and not a friend at all. Worry is not a partner you want to unite with in the business of life. There isn’t much good to say about worry!
I’ve had plenty of opportunity to squelch worry when I travel, and still do. I’m getting better though.
If the weather turns adverse, planes get cancelled, security lines are filled with hundreds of people, and arrival times are tight, it’s tempting to get concerned about not getting to where I need to be. When I start to feel tension building within and worry mounting, I try to catch the swelling fear and replace it with, “Evan, you need to trust more. You need to trust God more. God is not worried one little bit about what is going to happen. God has it all figured out.”
My faith was put to the test last week when flying out of LaGuardia in New York City to Boston.
I got to the airport at a good time and patiently waited through a long security line with hundreds of other flyers only to be told by the agent checking ID that I was in the wrong terminal.
“Oh no,” my panic alarms went off. My plane was starting to board already because the security wait had been so long, and now I had to find the “Marine Terminal,” wherever that was, which involved taking a shuttle bus and waiting in more lines, including security.
I panicked a bit, but backed mortal mind off with, “God is going to get me on that plane on time. Trust more.”
I found the shuttle, but honest to goodness, his route was so circuitous, including countless stops at other places first, and dragging on and on while the minutes ticked away, that worry started to rear again.
“Don’t watch the clock,” I protested. “Watch the truth. Time is not a factor with God. Eternity is the reality, and in eternity, there are no missed planes, no tight schedules, no burdensome security lines, no delays and no shortages of time.”
I remained peaceful, and eventually, after 15 minutes or so, arrived at the Marine Terminal.
I didn’t know what time it was materially, but I felt God’s time spiritually. All was well, I knew.
I walked into the terminal and only one person was in the security line. Praise the Lord! I made it quickly through the scanner, only to hear over the loudspeaker that my plane had been cancelled because of air traffic control, and I had been seated on the next shuttle out which left one hour later.
As I ambled to the gate, I said, “See Evan, you didn’t have to feel rushed at all. You have a whole hour to spare!”
The timing of the new flight was not a problem for me. The plane left on time, and the rest of the day was spectacular in all ways.
In thinking back on that brief adventure, worry was useless. It didn’t accomplish any positive gain. And I didn’t need it. It was not a help. Trust God more is always the way to go!
What we cannot figure out humanly, God has figured out spiritually. And as we trust, listen and follow, the divine plan unfolds itself as we need it, and the outcome is very good. You can count on it.
Boy is this useful!
I’m laminating it and taking it with me when I travel!
I got stuck by a cancelled flight about 3 months ago. The line to rebook was impossibly long and it was clear we were not getting out until the next morning but I needed to be there that night. I tried to pray but was so frustrated seeing every option dissolve. I kept praying and at one moment in the praying decided to call some CS friends for support. They said “could we call you back in a few minutes” ? They called back to tell me they had the idea to go online and had purchased the last remaining seat into that destination that night and told me where I needed to go to pick it up. And….the price was less than the cancelled portion had been weeks earlier!
Giving up worry leads to some neat solutions!
Thanks for this blog…..I love it. Such a day brightener.
Thanks Evan.
About a month ago I was traveling to Boston to attend the 4 day fall Longyear tour of MBE’s travels and residences, churches, etc. While at the departing airport the flight was canceled and my luggage was in storage and was supposed to be shipped on another flight. About 1:00 AM, I was called to the counter at told my flight was rescheduled and woul be leaving about 2:00 AM. Immediately I expressed by prayful thoughts, called my transportation company and was taken to the BA for my reservation. In the short morning before beginning the scheduled activites I was refreshed and was told by the other members taking the tour that I had that glow that I had experienced when returning to my church in DE after class instruction in 2006. I enjoyed the week in the company with many CS persons. God had already set the tone for my arrival.
Thank you Evan,once again for this wisdom. I was reminded of a insight shared by a former member of the Board of Directors, Jill Gooding. In one of her lectures or articles, published years ago, she was talking about worry, and she defined it as ‘ingratitude in advance.’ That we might be believing that God is not in full control, or will not be in full control as some future time. I have cherished this insight ever since I heard it. I’ve used this to discipline my own thought when I’ve been tempted or even overwhelmed, I’ve asked myself, do you believe that God is not in full control right now? Will God be in full control tomorrow, or in the next hour? And the concept of gratitude also plays a role in this too. Let’s be truly understanding and therefore grateful that God truly is in full control and always will be…..I’m so grateful for all the wisdom I have been able to plug into, on your Blog, and with the published writings from our periodicals too. God Bless Jill, also….have a great day. Leah
What works for me should worry cross my thoughts is to go into neutral — think of nothing but feel that I’m just along for the ride, someone else is driving, making the big decisions, scheduling things, all in my favor.
Also, if getting from point A to point B by whatever means gets you anxious, all things work to the good for them that love God, even a cancelled flight or missed event.
Not worrying makes me think of how much I enjoyed winter as a kid. Mom, dad, or the bus driver dealt with snow-covered roads. Winter just meant sledding and snowmen to me!
This is a fantastic posting Evan! So inspired and helpful. I always read the comments and am so glad I did. The comment about Jill Goodings definition of worry being “ingratitude in advance” really resonated with me. Something going around facebook is that worry is praying for what you don’t want. I thought that was good too. Very useful ideas I take with me in my day. Thank you!! Mary