Future-Thinking: What can worry add to your life?

It seems like worry is everywhere—in the board room, in the office, at home, in the schools, and even in the church. This week as I worked with a consulting client, she worried about AI and how it would effect her business. And a coaching client was worried that his new gig would fail, despite several months of testing it and running it. One client was worried that a new franchise that she purchased would not do well—despite the fact that others who owned the same franchise are doing quite well. Another consulting client is worried about how tariffs might affect their business. A client told me this morning that children in his city are not attending school because of worry about what is going on in his community. And in the board room of a board that I serve on, there was discussion about worry with a new competitor moving into the marketplace. And none of these involved the worry from listening to negative news reports or reading divisive social media posts.

When I think about worry, I am reminded of a young lady. I just saw her at church this weekend. She was with her grandparents. A beautiful young lady, age 17, but much more poised and confident of her identity than most 17-year-olds. I remember the day when her grandparents asked me to pray for their daughter who had cancer. That daughter had a little baby but was fighting the fight of her life. And the minds of grandpa and grandpa were dwelling in the world of worst case scenarios. Didn’t God say that we should bring our burdens to Him? And surely this anxiety couldn’t be a pleasing situation for God and surely, he must have had a better plan for His child.

When it comes to the human race, worry is part of the package. We know in the back of our minds that it is a useless and unhealthy vice. It is ultimately foolish because it concerns that which hasn’t happened yet. It lives in a future that can’t be foreseen. It deals in “what ifs” and could be; speculation and possibility. The worrier has a mind torn between the real and the possible, the immediate and the potential. Scripture is full of instruction saying, “don’t worry.” But how can you not worry about your daughter who has cancer in its late stages? How can you not worry about a young granddaughter who needs a mom?

But what do we know about worry? You see, “don’t worry” doesn’t mean don’t be concerned. Concern focuses on the present, but worry is attached to the future. Worry is also inconsistent. If you buy into a greater God, you must buy into a sustaining God or you are inconsistent. The evidence of God’s love is all around us. But we need to use our minds to find comfort for our soul. Worry is irrational. He who gave us life can surely sustain that life. Worry is ineffective. Scripture asks a question that needs to be answered, “Which one of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” The average pet mouse will run nine thousand miles on wheel in his cage in his lifetime, but at the end he is still on the inside of the cage. That is how it is with worry—a lifetime of running with no destination. Worry doesn’t rob tomorrow of its sorrow, it robs today of its strength. The goodness of God is the essence of our faith. Worry is the total denial of it. In ancient times, people went to Baal worship. Today we have simply removed the stone God’s and replaced them with new shiny ones such as career, materialism, pleasure, and power—all the attainments we worry about in our denial of a God who will care for every need.

So, how do we fight off worry? We need a system of priorities, and we need to get them in order. Scripture says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you." We must rebuild our system of priorities with God at the center of the structure. And we will be sheltered from the storms of stress and worry.

Next, we need to get a strategic program. Scripture says, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” God wants us to live one day at a time. We need to live in the present time and make every day a beautiful gift to God. There are six words in scripture that I repeatedly mentioned to grandpa and grandma as I prayed for them. The Lord says,"Worry about nothing; pray about everything." And so, they did. They prayed for the daughters healing and comfort. They prayed for their granddaughter’s protection and safety. They even moved to Texas to be with their granddaughter while her mother went through some very intense and grueling treatments. Before they left for Texas, I gave them this from an anonymous author:

My name is I AM. If you live in the past, it will be very hard, for I am not there. My name is not I was.

And if you live in the future, it will be very hard, for my name is not I will be.

But if you live in the present, it will not be hard, for my name is I AM.

Their daughter passed at the age of 43. But the granddaughter has grown up to be a beautiful, strong, confident young lady. One wonders if this would have been the case if grandpa and grandma had not centered on God and made sure that she was loved and cared for. She is very intelligent, gets good grades, works very hard and has a strong belief in God. Grandma had her own battle with cancer and survived. Pushing worry aside, centering their lives on God and establishing their priorities got them through all of this.

In the business world I suggest the same formula—push worry aside, focus on what is most important, clearly identify concerns, establish priorities and develop a strategic plan.