What do you consider to be worry?
Question:
What do you consider to be worry? I mean, I worry about losing interest in God and not having that same feeling I get when I desire to read a story in the Bible or I just get scared I'm doing something wrong because sometimes I don't feel close to Him and my feelings shut off.
Answer:
Worry is "anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems." Worry is focusing on the problem without working toward a solution.
- Worrying about potential problems that are not currently a problem (Matthew 6:26). An example is a person who has a job and is able to put food on the table but is worried that he might lose his job or some other unforeseen problem might occur. The answer is that we have to trust that God will take care of His people.
- Worrying about things you can't change (Matthew 6:27). Worrying about your future height or how long you will live is unproductive because you can't change these things anyway.
- Worrying about things that are temporary (Matthew 6:28-30). It is easy to forget that we are just passing through in this life and many matters aren't that important in the long run, especially compared to eternity.
- Borrowing trouble from the future (Matthew 6:34). We can get overwhelmed with all the problems that are coming up. The best way to handle life is to deal with today's difficulties, get through them, and only then deal with the next critical item coming up.
Worrying that you might be losing interest in God is unproductive. If you are losing interest, then find a way to get interested again, but understand that it is normal for the intensity of interest to build and wane over time. However, feelings don't tell you how close you are to God. Feelings constantly change (Proverbs 28:26). The focus in the Bible is on what you do, not what you feel. "I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:10).
