Worry

'Therefore I tell you, do not worry...' What's behind the 'therefore'?
Teaching (in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6) about giving, prayer
and fasting, about laying up for ourselves treasure in heaven not on
earth, not serving two masters. Behind all that is the desire to live
for the God who sees what is going on in secret, and to seek the reward
that he most certainly gives to those who so love him and trust him that
their chief passion in life is to please him, whatever others may think.

How do we do that? First, by learning to open our spiritual eyes and
look at God with the faith that he is what Jesus reveals him to be: a
loving heavenly Father. 'The Lord is my shepherd', we say; let us
believe it! For if we believed it, we would believe he loved us and was
caring for us and looking after us, that he was aware of everything we
were doing and everything that was happening to us, and that he was
actively ensuring that everything was happening for our good, whatever
it felt like. We would believe that our future was very much his
concern, and that he wasn't worried about it.

What is the evidence for that? In one word: Jesus.

So I don't have to worry that maybe one day I'll get alzheimer's, or
that I'll die of a heart attack before I'm 75 as did my father and
grandfather. Maybe I will, but that is not my problem. It's his; and if
he's not worried about it, I must not worry myself. Obviously I can try
to live healthily; lack of worry does not mean lack of planning. But I
can plan with serenity rather than fear. I can... but will I? Lord, open
my eyes!