Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Some things are best said by the one saying them. This is especially true when the one saying them is Jesus. In the following He gives an explanation of how to respond to the drama of life. It is a nonpareil expression of how to relieve stress. To get us started He opens with a trio sampling of primary things over which we are often tempted to stress. Expand the list to include things which cause you stress and apply the same approach to them as to these three. Read the following slowly and pause along the way to contemplate what is said.

Seeing the crowd around Him and knowing human nature Jesus gave these timeless insights. They are as relevant today as the day spoken.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6: 24 – 35)

Observe that in conclusion Jesus allows for trouble, but having first told how to respond to it.

There is a song by Bobby Marley with the phrase, “don’t worry, be happy.” To alter that slightly, don’t worry, and you will be happy. Now, let your mind marinade on these items and make your personal prayerful response to Jesus. Don’t leave wiggle room in your response. Then go out and live in the light of these concepts.