"Why pray......when you can worry"

I just received an e-mail from a dear friend of the family. She was writing in response my note to her that mother had passed away. This friend lives many miles away, so she was not able to be at the memorial service.

She pointed out the great heritage that we have in our family. But also, her e-mail reminded me of a couple of things. First, her story:

“I remember one time when I was in a meeting with them in Minnesota..... I'm not even sure which town. It was during the 70's and I was traveling alone. I had two meetings in a row which had been cancelled.....both of them were "legitimate" cancellations, which the pastor could not help. I had got up early one morning and was in the dining room making some phone calls, trying to fill those "empty" spots. The door to the kitchen (where your parents were cooking breakfast) was closed. I think I was sitting at the dining room table, with my head bowed in my hands......partly in prayer, and partly in desperation. Anyway, the door to the kitchen opened, and your Dad came in to get something, and saw me.

I think he immediately got "the picture".....and started singing in his big booming voice:

"Why pray......when you can worry"

I had been singing the little chorus with the children:

Why worry, when you can pray
Trust Jesus, He'll be your stay.
Don't be a doubting Thomas
Trust fully in His promise...
Why worry, worry...worry, worry
When you can pray.

Anyway, we had a good laugh.........and my despair gave way to hope.....and "sure 'nuff"........I soon had some phone calls and filled those empty dates.”

Several things come to mind:

First: relationships are so wonderful! My parents had opened their home to this friend, who was an itinerant preacher. And, little did she know when she came to visit that she would need them! She needed dad’s “encouraging song” done with humor….but it got the point across. But, she probably might not have received it had they not been her friend.

Second: songs, even when mixed up and done in jest, can be powerful reminders!

Third: reminders are important. She needed to be reminded that worrying was getting her nowhere. She needed to pray. She had been singing the chorus with the children but it had not gotten into HER heart at that point. It was a nice message, but it was not yet a reality in her own situation.

Funny how we can get into situations that blind us to doing what we know we should do! When we are worried we should pray! We know that, but sometimes we need other people such as family, friends, colleagues, to remind us of that fact. So, let’s all be sensitive to needs around us and be an encouragement to someone today.

So, if you are in one of those difficult, “stuck between a rock and a hard-place” times, let someone help you! Or you can do what dad said: "Why pray......when you can worry"

Well…actually NOT! Here is a great reminder:

Do Not Worry

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:25-33 NIV)

Problems with hearing God due to a lot of "noise?"

Here is a great quote from Henri Nouwen (1932-1996):

"It is clear that we are usually surrounded by so much outer noise that it is hard to truly hear our God when he is speaking so us. We have often become deaf, unable to know when God calls us and unable to understand in which direction he calls us.

Thus our lives have become absurd. In the word absurd we find the Latin word "surdus," which means "deaf."...When, however, we learn to listen, our lives become obedient lives. The word obedient comes from the Latin word "audire," which means "listening." [Nouwen, Henri J.M. "Making All Things New: An Invitation to the Spiritual Life." San Francisco : Harper & Row, 1981.]

I recently had an experience where I was thankful that I “heard the Lord.” On a recent Saturday morning I started to read through the book of Ecclesiastes. My plan was to read several chapters, pray and then head to my office at the college to do some work. As I was reading, I felt the Lord speak to me to “read until 10:00 a.m.” (It was about 9:40 a.m.) Well, I was really enjoying reading and I didn’t look at the clock to see what time it was. Instead of a few chapters, I felt impressed to “read the whole book.” Well, I love to read God’s Word, so it was a joy.

Well, I prayed for a while and then just sat and “meditated.” When I got up, it was almost 11:00 a.m. My wife had put the vacuum cleaner in the living room (“hint, hint!”). Actually, not! But, I decked to help her before I went to the office. I vacuumed one room and then when I move to another room, I looked out the window and saw a fire truck.

To make a long story short, when I went outside to check on what had happened, I found that my neighbor was about to be taken by ambulance to the emergency room. She was having breathing problems. Her husband wanted to go with her in the ambulance. I said, “I’ll watch the kids.”

So, the 3 kids—one young teen and 2 pre-teens—went into the house and we had a great time together over the next couple of hours. Eventually their mom and dad came home and their mom was fine for which we all thanked the Lord!

I thought: if I have not been obedient to stay at home, I would have missed it. Karen was heading to the store, so she probably would not have been around to help.

Isn’t God good? He had a plan lined out so that the kids would not be left alone in an empty house. I didn’t tell you that the family was just a couple hours from leaving the city due to moving. The rental truck was packed and they were just doing the last cleaning when this happened!

Not only did He have a plan for the children and the mom and dad, but also for me: I had the wonderful privilege of getting to know 3 wonderful young people better than I had in the time they lived next door as neighbors. It was such an inspiration to see how the three of them loved each other and interacted during this “rough time” of not knowing what was happening to their mother!

I have always tried to listen to the Lord and be obedient to Him. I’ll be the first to let you know that I am not batting 1.000 in this area, but I continue to work at it.
This little incident has been a great reminder to be “listening” at all times for the voice of the Lord.

As Nouwen reminded me: “We have often become deaf, unable to know when God calls us and unable to understand in which direction he calls us.”

I want to hear God speaking and then obey. Someone may be depending on my obedience.