I just did a Google search on “Worry.” It turned up 504, 000,000 pages. Pages that define worry, pages that diagnose worry, pages that medicate worry, pages that worry about worry. Five hundred and four million!

Compare that to searches on ”Peace”: 198,000,000; “Calm”: 270,000,000; “Relaxed”: 166,000,000.

We are worriers. We worry about all kinds of things. We worry about things in the past that we can’t change. We worry about things in the future that we can’t control. We worry about things in the present that we can’t predict.

I looked up the origin of “worry,” and found it comes from an Old English word meaning “to strangle.” That sounds about right, don’t you think? Worry strangles us, makes it hard to breath, hard to function. It holds us back.  There is nothing positive about worry. Nothing beneficial. None of us gets to the end of a tough week and says, “Boy, I am sure glad I worried so much!”

We know worry is bad. It is unhealthy. It gives us stomach aches and headaches and muscle aches. But did you know it isn’t just bad…it’s a sin.

In Matthew 6:34, Jesus says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

DO NOT WORRY. Not, “May I make a suggestion?” or “Hey, you know, why don’t you try…?” or “It might be a good idea…” No, this is a command, the subject being YOU. That’s right. YOU. Don’t worry.

Here’s the good news: if God commands us to do something, we can be certain He will empower us to do it. It isn’t impossible.

But it is hard.

Jesus knew that. So he didn’t just leave us with the command, he also left us with a solution, an antidote to worry:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Mt. 6:33

So when you catch yourself worrying about something – a big test, a cute boy, an angry boss, a broken-down car, a huge bill, a frightening medical diagnosis…Stop. Pray. Seek God’s kingdom, God’s righteousness. Invite him into your problem, give Him free reign in your soul, allow him to replace that worry with peace, even joy. Think about HIM, not the problem. Because HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness are eternal. Your problems are not. Don’t waste your time worrying. Spend your time seeking God: his kingdom, his righteousness. “And all these things shall be given to you as well.”