This should be our favorite passage in the nuclear age -- any age! It is filled with the Spirit's wine of joy and encouragement. We are all on a journey and God gives the believer a thick skin and a warm heart. No flippant attitude here, just one of pure faith and strong courage.

The worried heart becomes a hotel for many guests. The fearful, distressed, grieved, fretful, frustrated, and a host of other relatives all come to weigh you down and break your spirit. Peter writes the recipe, "Casting all of your cares upon him for he careth for you" (I Pet. 5:7). The initial invitation from the Lord is "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I Will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

A traveler with a heavy pack on his back was given a ride. As they went along, the driver noticed he was still carrying the load on his back. "Why don't you put your burden on the wagon bed?" he asked. "0 thank you sir, I didn't know you wanted to carry us both!" God seeks both you and your burdens.

Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow never comes. To the worrywart, 80 percent of life is a waste -- 40 percent in the past and 40 percent in the future. Jesus said, "Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof" (Mt. 6:34). One day at a time, Lord Jesus!

The story is told of a man driving his wagon through a strange country. He seemed to be on a long endless hill. The crest of the hill was never in sight. His mule was sagging under the load. He finally pulled to a stop and inquired of a boy passing by, "Tell me, son, how far is this hill?" "Hill nothing," giggled the boy. "Your hind wheels is off!" Worry is a life distorted. It throws everything out of proportion.

We need this warning about worry for a number of reasons. The original Anglo-Saxon word meant "to choke or strangle." Webster adds "to torment, fret, trouble or plague."

In the first place, worry is so common. It belongs to every class because everyone does it! It's a common denominator and, everywhere man goes, it is sure to follow. You can no more run from worry than a dog can run from its fleas. It knows no borders, honors no caste, respects no creed. It is that simple yet destructive mental habit that is acquired -- not inborn. It is planted, watered, fertilized, nurtured, and eventually harvested by folks who know no better. Poor folks worry, so do the rich; cultured folks worry, so do the unlettered and unlearned. People worry who are in good circumstances, and people worry who are in desperate and tragic difficulties.

Not only is it a common experience, but we who worry, worry about all sorts of things-money and how to get it, spend it, save it, shelter it, pay taxes on it, lose it, steal it, hoard it. Paul writes, “For the love of money is the root of all evil" (I Tim. 6:10). We spend money we don't have, to buy things we don't need, to keep up with people we don't even like.

We worry and fret over baldness, bridges, bifocals, bunions, and bulges and generally die of a heart attack. Jesus said, "Come apart and rest" and we just tend to come apart.

The biggest problem with worry is that it is so utterly useless. It is the opposite of concern, which tends to matter. Worry is just a prayer to the wrong God. It is the most foolish, impractical, nonsensical, stupid, dumb, idiotic pastime of people. It never lifted a single burden, solved a single problem, or dried a single tear. To the contrary, it increases our burdens a hundred fold, complicates our problems where no answer comes, and becomes the vast untapped reservoir of tears, waiting to be shed needlessly and without cause.

Worry kills! It is not harmless but deadly. It hurts everyone it plagues and plagues everyone it hurts. The lives of 576 executives were examined, and the report shows 71% died of high blood pressure, heart disease, or stomach ulcers. Worry kills those who worry. The god of worry is just an empty idol.

The Solution

Worry kills. It destroys, little by little the person who worries, and gradually but steadily invades the hearts and lives of others around us. It is a HABIT that is learned, not a trait that is inborn. It is true that many, if not most people worry. We worry about all sorts of things. But the truth rem#ns, it is a deadly habit, a roll of the dice, a type of mental Russian Roulette that one day will eventually kill the one who plays with it.

Remember, concern is the opposite of worry, for concern involves matters over which you have partial or complete control. Concern makes us take action, seek solutions, dissolve differences. Worry just KILLS.

Be careful of counterfeit cures. First, there is no ideal situation! There are just not enough ideal situations to go around. Besides there are more suicides on Wall Street than in the ghettos. Laughter and foolishness are not the answer. They only succeed in tightening the noose. Getting drunk might be fine if you didn't have to sober up, and drugs might be a get a way if you didn't have to 'come back home.'

The hangman said, "Do you have any last words?" The victim was heard to whine, "This sure is gonna teach me a lesson!" Clinched fists, gritting teeth, beating your head against the wall are as useless as trying to push a chain or move a ship to shore by leaning on the mast.

The first step is to realize that a cure is possible and readily available. To the believer. It is found in the scriptures. The financial cost is zero. The time element is short. The spiritual power is available for the asking. The answer may be rejected because it sounds so simple. The supreme remedy is PRAYER. Paul writes, "Don't worry about anything whatever, but pray and ask God for everything you need. And when you pray, always give thanks; and God's peace will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6).

Whatever breaks your heart should break the silence. Whatever bends the life should bend the knee. Prayer is talking with your heavenly Father and it is to be the daily habit of the Christian. It is the one total advantage we have over unbelief. It is not some special tool for desperate men (like a final cry of "0 Lord, save me"), but it is a super power for daily living. "In everything pray." In "everything give thanks." Be specific, speak forth in simple words what's in the heart. Repeat your petitions again and again until the answer comes.

Irene Hagan asked me a simple question. "How long should I pray for my husband's salvation?" I inquired, "How long have you been praying?" She said rather sadly, "Eleven years. "Then keep praying for Tommy till the answer comes," I exhorted.

I moved from that ministry, but years later I received word that Tommy Hagan was saved in the fifty-third year of Irene's daily prayers. God does not tire of our heartfelt cries to him. I was only 21 when she asked her question. Time reveals all.

Now let's talk about your case. Here's a simple recipe that has worked throughout the years. (1) Determine how long you have carried your burden. You say, "Eight years and three months." "Have you done all you can do about it?" I inquire. You reply in the affirmative. Your answer moves it from concern into the worry column. You qualify as a candidate -- continue.

Put a specific time limit on it NOW. Binding the enemy is essential if you are going to behead him. Say, 10 o'clock tonight. Go to your bedroom; lock the door; no interruptions; TV off; radio silent; and the phone unhooked! Notify members of the family that privacy is absolutely necessary. Time now is irrelevant. You are alone and assured of no interference. Success now is vital and can set in motion a simple practice that can serve you well all the rest of your life on earth.

The hour is come, preparations done, get down on your knees before God and begin. Start at the beginning and recall as best you can (verbally and vocally) each detail involved in the problem. Leave no stone unturned, especially the ones you may have thrown. Confess readily your part (if any) in the conflict. Then say these words, "Father, I will not get up from my knees until you take my burden away." I know the very second this will happen. You say, "When?" It will be the exact moment you give the burden up! God, our Father, will take your burden as soon as you willingly release it. TRY IT -- IT WORKS EVERY TIME -- GUARANTEED!