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| Photo by Anita Patterson |
Worry is like cancer. It eats away at vital parts of our
being.
Cancer multiplies quickly—and so does worry. What starts as
a single, fearful thought becomes a niggling concern. The niggling concern goes round and round in
our minds gathering other anxious thoughts.
Gradually the spinning fears form a vortex of worry that
sucks all our thoughts into itself. By definition, a vortex is a region where
the flow spins about an imaginary axis.
How true of worry also—it seldom is based in reality; instead it stems from our
imagination!
Left untreated, cancer spreads and invades other organs and
systems in the body. The results of unchecked worry are paralyzing fear,
insomnia, stomach distress, high blood pressure, and unproductivity.
The treatments for cancer all aim to eradicate cancer cells
from the body:
Radical surgery to remove the source
Radiation to shrink and destroy tumors
Chemotherapy to kill and prevent and the reproduction of
cancer cells
The “treatments” to deliver us from worry sound very
similar:
Pray—pray so the God can remove the source of worry
Read God’s Word—to shrink the lies swirling through our
minds and to flood our thoughts with truth
Talk with faith-filled friends—to stop the thoughts and
prevent them from proliferating
Scripture has much to say about worry:
Psalm 37:8 Don't give
in to worry or anger; it only leads to trouble.
Ecclesiastes 11:10
Don't let anything worry you or cause you pain.
Daniel 10:19 He said,
"God loves you, so don't let anything worry you or frighten you."
Matthew 6:34 So do not
worry about tomorrow . . . There is no need to add to the troubles each day
brings.
Philippians 4:6 Don't
worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always
asking him with a thankful heart.
All of these scriptures are commands,--do not worry! So,
UNlike cancer, worry is an act of disobedience--a sin. Praise God for 1 John
1:9:
If we confess our sins
God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
©2013 Pamela D. Williams
