One of the peculiar things about worry is that not everybody does it.  In addition to this, while two people may both worry with equal intensity, one may not worry at all about a particular thing, while another worrier may lose hours of sleep each night over this same issue. Worry basically has its roots in a desire to control circumstances, situations, or people over which we, by default, have no control.
 

Why do we worry?  If we've established that Jesus' commands are important, (and they are) we should note that one of these directly addresses worry...

 "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"      Matthew 6:25

 Let's pause here for a moment to analyze something Jesus said.  What does He mean when He says
 

 "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?" 

Who gave us life?  Who gave us our bodies?  The obvious answer is God.  We had not a speck of control when we received these things.  Life came to each of us at a time when we did not and could not control anything or make any choices.   Two tiny seeds came together the moment we were conceived, God worked a miracle, and here we are!  We couldn't choose which egg would be fertilized; only God could do that in His infinite, all knowing way, and each of us is put together in his or her own fashion.  Worry is rooted in a fear of losing control. It would be good at this point to remember something Isaiah wrote:

 "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, 'I, the Lord, am the Maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, and spreading out the earth all alone,"                         Isaiah 44:24

 The point of what Jesus said in the Matthew passage is that if God could give us what we cannot give ourselves (i.e., life, our bodies), we shouldn't worry about these lesser things (Food, clothing).  It's plain that we should work and earn and pull our weight down here, but the whole machine of supply and demand works because God designed it to work. 
 

We can short-circuit God's provision by not doing our part, but we shouldn't worry about tomorrow when there's plenty in today's work to occupy our thoughts.  Planning for the future is one thing; worrying about it is something else...

"Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. "   Matthew 6:34

 In the same way that God gave us our life and our bodies, He gives the birds their bodies, and they don't worry about anything.  If God hadn't fed them, they wouldn't still be here.  Jesus directs our attention to this truth:

 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not worth much more than they?"                                                                                  Matthew 6:26
 
 The same God who made them and feeds them made us and will feed us.  But food and clothing aren't the only things we worry about.  Some of us worry about far more frightening things, and so did those who heard the words of the Lord as He walked the dusty roads of Palestine.  There is always some chance that we might suffer some great catastrophe.  What complicates things concerning Jesus' instructions to those He leads is that persecutions and catastrophes can come about as a direct result of following Him!
 

He didn't hide this from those He taught, but He gave them some insight in this area:

 "... do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a cent?  And yet not a one of them will fall to the ground  apart from your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are numbered.  Therefore, do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows."      
                                             Matthew 10:28b-31
 
 Did you know that to simply acknowledge Christ as Savior in a country the Sudan will condemn you to the loss of your home and children? 
 

Yet great numbers come to Christ there every day.  All over the world, Christian persecution has increased in its scope and intensity to the point that more Christians have been martyred for their faith in the last century than in all the previous nineteen hundred years. 

 At least eighty five thousand people a day are coming to Christ world wide each day according to one report, and most of them can expect persecution because of their faith ranging from harassment and discrimination to imprisonment, torture, and death.  In China the body of Christ is growing at the rate of twenty thousand a day, in spite of a hostile Communist government that regularly closes and burns unsanctioned house churches.  Pastors are beaten to death, imprisoned, you name it.  In Cuba one young man I know of as I write this is now doing time in one of their government prisons for the heinous crime of showing Christian videos in his home.

 This could go on for pages, but the point is that if they have it that bad and keep hanging in there, what should we worry about?

 Once again, worry is rooted in fear, and I John 4:18 tells us "perfect love casts out fear," which should comfort us, but it usually doesn't.  One of the hardest things to learn is how to replace fear and worry with faith and prayer.

 It's easy to tell somebody else not to worry about something you're not worried about.
 In Egypt, archaeologists have found a great number of the skeletons of the workers who built the great pyramids; it turns out that there were no mysterious space people who built those massive structures.  The skeletons of these hapless workers exhibit compressed spines and acquired deformities from carrying extremely heavy loads that the human body wasn't designed to bear.
 

Worry will wear us out mentally and physically, because when we worry, we're carrying burdens we weren't designed to carry!  Worry is one of the things that can deplete our mental, emotional, and physical resources.  Who needs it?

 "And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?
 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light."              Matthew 6:27,11:29-30

 Let's consider a question here.  Do you believe God is in control?  If you don't then you've got a big problem, and maybe we'll talk about that later, but if you do, you believe the truth.  In light of the fact that God is in control, shouldn't we spend more time praying and less time worrying?

 You see, the more time you spend in prayer, the less you'll worry.  Period. If you truly believe God is in control, the most productive thing you can do about something you can't control is to go to the One who can make a difference, tell Him about your worries, and let them go.  Whatever happens, leave the consequences to Him.  That's what faith and faithfulness are all about.  Someone has said:

 "Fear knocked at the door.  Faith answered and there was nobody there."
 The word "fear" could be replaced with the word "worry", since they are so closely related.

 In Babylon, before Esther but after the first wave of Jews was deported, there were three young men who made a choice that would mean certain death and left  the consequences to God.  Their names were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  They refused to worship a golden statue set up by king Nebuchadnezzar, thus condemning themselves to be burned alive in a furnace.  They had a chance to appeal, but they chose to trust God whether He saved them or not; they obviously weren't worried!  The only thing that burned when he had them thrown in was the cords with which he had bound their hands. 

 After you've been through the fire with Jesus, the cords of worry fall away and your faith is stronger.  Is that what it'll take for you and me to trust Him with our cares and worries?  There may be a fire coming your way, but if you've trusted Him as Savior, there's simply nothing to worry about.

 Anyone who hasn't trusted Christ as Savior and been justified by His Blood ought to be worried.  It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God...                 R.W.M.