Don't Worry
By Becky Hunter, June 22, 2007
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:34 (The Message)
Isn’t that a great verse? Stated concisely: don’t worry. When we are fretful, concerned, or anxious because we have moved our thoughts into an imaginary world, speculating on various scenarios, we’ve left reality behind. The people we are with aren’t blessed, the ministry we offer is put on hold, the confidence we have in Christ is sidelined because we’ve gone to a place that doesn’t exist and tried to address circumstances that may never materialize.
A pastor’s wife may be more tempted than most to worry about meeting expectations, both real and imagined, of our husband, church members, and the community. Some of us live most of each day nervously thinking through what we will do wrong.
More than thirty years ago, Nancy Curtis, a pastor’s wife I admire greatly said something that helped me stop worrying. She shared the principle from Scripture that is found in Matthew 6:34, but she said it in such a way I finally really understood it. “The reason we never should worry, Becky, is that our God is a real God. He helps us in our real needs, but when we worry, we go to a fake place, an imaginary place in our minds, so our real God doesn’t go there with us. When we worry, we go alone.”
This weekend I’m going to pray that our real God will comfort you in your real need and that you won’t choose to go into the pretend land where worry has you isolated from His power. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Join me in lifting up the thousands of pastors’ wives scattered throughout countries around the world when you sit down in your worship service this weekend. My family is on vacation this week so I’ll be praying for you in a tiny church on an island in Lake Erie.
Blessings to you as you serve God and love your husband well.
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