How to properly worry

I’M GUESSING we’re about to witness a new wave of worriers.

It’s graduation time.

High school and college kids are going to be looking for work – during the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Which would make this the Great Recession.

Some experts in naming things have branded the current generation: Generation R.

They should probably rethink that.

How about: Generation GR.

As in, “GRRRRRR. I can’t find a job.”

I believe there is a place for worry. I think it’s a natural emotion – a perfectly acceptable expression of concern.

On the other hand, after we’ve done everything we can possibly do to deal with that concern, perhaps there is a point of release – a boundary, of sorts. We leave our territory and we enter God’s territory.

Maybe that’s what some of the Bible writers were talking about when they gave us the following advice, which I’ve pulled from The Complete Guide to the Bible, Student Edition, a book releasing in June.

• Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7, The Message)

• Don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or clothes to wear. . . . Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. . . . Don’t worry whether God will provide it for you. These things dominate the thoughts of most people, but your Father already knows your needs. He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. (Luke 12:22-31, NLT) Even if we’re cold and starving, destined to die, God gives us what we need: life that never ends.

• The battle is not yours, but God’s. (2 Chronicles 20:15, NLT) These are God’s words to a Jewish king about to face an invasion force. But these words are repeated throughout the Bible, as though they apply to all of life’s battles for those of us who serve God.