…Making Your Life Count with Dr Humphrey Mutiti
FEAR is a poor chisel for carving out tomorrow. If you’re worried about tomorrow, I have good news for you: Worry isn’t reality! Worry is really the triumph of fear over faith.
There is a story about a woman who cried profusely while standing on a street corner. A man came up to her and asked why she was weeping. The lady shook her head and replied, “I was just thinking that maybe someday I would get married.
We would later have a beautiful baby girl. Then one day this child and I would go for a walk along this street, and my darling daughter would run into the street, get hit by a car, and die.”
It sounds like a gorgeous ridiculous situation-weeping because of something that will presumably never happen. Yet we act this way when we worry. We blow a situation out of proportion that might never come to pass.
An old Swedish proverb says: “Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.” Worry is simply the abuse of the creative imagination God has placed within us. The word “worry” is derived from an Anglo-Saxon phrase meaning “to strangle” or “to choke off.” There is no question that worry and fear choke off the positive creativity God gives us.
When fear rises in our minds, we should expect the opposite in our lives. We should anticipate faith to rise in our hearts to shield us against worrisome thoughts.
Things are seldom as they seem. W.S. Gilbert once said, “Skim milk masquerades as cream.” As we dwell on matters beyond our control, a negative effect sets in. Too much analysis always leads to paralysis. 99% of things you worry about will never happen.
The Bible says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved” (Ps. 55:22 NKJV). God is greater than the burdens you are carrying. When we put yours cares in God’s hands, He puts His peace in your heart. Never respond out of fear, and never fear to respond. Action attacks fear; inaction reinforces it.
Don’t worry and don’t fear. Instead, take your fear and worry to the Lord, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV). Worry is a route that leads from somewhere to nowhere. Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles but it takes away today’s peace. Never let it direct your life.
Finally, fear and worry are interests paid in advance on something you may never own. Never let your fear decide your future. Don’t let fear stop you achieving your dreams. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “He who is not every day conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.”
Men and women who turn their lives to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He can deepen their joys, multiply their blessings, comfort their souls and pour out peace in their hearts.
The author, Dr. Humphrey Mutiti is a Pastor, conference speaker, instructor, and lecturer at Great Commission Theological Institute, an author of several books, has a Ph.D. Doctorate in Theology, a Ph.D. Doctorate in Ministry and a student in the school of law.
