An Alternative to Worry/解忧秘方

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Dexu Xia

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Jan 14, 2019, 1:25:48 AM1/14/19

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An Alternative to Worry

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6:27

A law-abiding, honest man received a voicemail that said, “This is officer _______ from the police department. Please call me at this number.” Immediately the man began to worry—afraid that somehow he had done something wrong. He was afraid to return the call, and he even spent sleepless nights running through possible scenarios—worried that he was in some kind of trouble. The officer never called back, but it took weeks for the worry to go away.

Jesus asked an interesting question about worry: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27). Perhaps this can help us rethink our tendency to worry, because it suggests that it doesn’t help the situation we’re concerned about.

When problems are on the horizon for us, maybe we can try the following two-step approach: Take action and trust in God. If we can do something to avoid the problem, let’s try that route. We can pray for God to guide us to an action we should take. But if there’s nothing we can do, we can take comfort in knowing that God never finds Himself in such a predicament. He can always act on our behalf. We can always turn our situation over to Him in trust and confidence.

When it feels like time to worry, may we turn to the inspired words of King David, who faced his own share of difficulties and worries, but concluded: “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Psalm 55:22). What a great alternative to worry!

What worries do you need to give to God today?

Father, You know what faces me today. I am turning my cares over to You. Please strengthen me and help me to trust You with the struggles I face.

解忧秘方

你们哪一个能用思虑使寿数多加一刻呢？-马太福音6章27节

有一个诚实守法的人，接到一通语音讯息：“我是警察局的陈警官，请回电给我。”他开始担心，害怕自己也许做错了什么事。他不敢回电话，好几晚都辗转难眠，脑海里浮现各种可能发生的情节，担忧自己闯了祸。那位警官没有再打电话来，但那人的烦恼却萦回数周。

关于担心，耶稣问过一个有趣的问题：“你们哪一个能用思虑使寿数多加一刻呢？”（马太福音6章27节）这或许能帮助我们检讨逢事担忧的倾向，因为这句话提醒我们，担心并无济于事。

当我们遇到问题时，或许可以尝试采取以下两个步骤：采取行动并信靠上帝。如果我们可以做些什么避免问题发生，那么就采取行动。我们可以向上帝祷告，求祂引导我们当如何进行。即使我们没有办法做什么，让人欣慰的是，上帝绝不会束手无策。祂可以代替我们采取行动，所以我们能信心十足地将各样的事交托给祂。

当我们忧心忡忡的时候，不妨细读大卫王面对困境与忧愁时，所下的结论：“你要把你的重担卸给耶和华，祂必扶持你”（诗篇55篇22节，新译本）。这个解忧秘方真好！

天父，祢知道今天什么事将临到我。
我将自己的担心交托给祢。在我面对困难时，求祢加添我的力量，帮助我能信靠祢。