Ministry can be full of worry if you let it. Besides carrying the concerns of others on your shoulders, you likely have ministry issues and family issues that weigh heavy from time to time. 

Worry will kill the joy God wants you to have in your life and ministry. All of us, even pastors, tend to expect the worst in life. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States.

But worry isn’t just a mental issue. It’s a spiritual one too. It’s assuming a responsibility that God never intended for us to have. It’s playing God and trying to control the uncontrollable.

 

There was once a scientific study on worry that discovered:

 

40% of our worries never happen

30% of our worries concern the past

12% of our worries are needless worries about our health

10% of our worries are insignificant or petty concerns

8% of our worries are really legitimate concerns

Worry is worthless. It can’t change the past or control the future. It only messes you up right now. It’s an incredible waste of energy. It’s stewing without doing. When we worry about things, they get bigger and bigger.

 

The Bible says, “Do not worry about anything” (Philippians 4:6 NCV). It’s one of the hardest commands to obey. It’s even more counter-cultural when you consider where Paul was when he wrote it. He was sitting in a prison waiting for the emperor to execute him.

 

Worry is something we learn to do. You must practice worry to get good at it. If it is learned, it can also be unlearned.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NIV).

 

Jesus gives us the ultimate antidote to worry.

 

Pastor, live one day at a time. God will take care of tomorrow.