Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Joseph Perry

A lady came up to me and said, “Mr. Perry, I have a lot going on in my life, and I’ve got a lot on my mind. Can you tell me what I take for worry?”

I said, “Take for worry? You can’t take anything for worry without it coming right back.” Some people are in fact taking medication for anxiety, they are meditating and doing yoga. All of that has its place; however, the worry will return.

What I told her — even though I know she really didn’t want to hear it — was that she needed a good consistent dose of the word of God. It’s amazing how the Bible can soothe all your doubts and dismiss all of your fears. It has the power to remove any insecurity.

There are a lot of folk right about now worrying about everything. We say, “Oh, well, I’m not worried, but I’m just a little concerned.” Worry is a predator of the human life. Worry is in fact from the very pits of hell. It harasses you. Worry can have you wondering how all of this is going to turn out. Worrying will torment you, and some people will come up with their own solutions. But I want you to know that drinking doesn’t fix worry, and drugs don’t fix worry. God has the power to make worry leave you alone. That’s why you need to keep getting the word of God in you, because in times like these, we need the word. “The word is a lamp unto our feet and a light into our path.” Psalm 119:105

There’s a dose of medicine for worry found in Luke 12. Jesus is teaching a sermon on the mount. No one could expound on the word like the Master. He knew how to hold your attention. He could take simple things in life and cause you to look at things in a different way. He could take earthly stories and create a heavenly meaning. Jesus notices the birds in the air flying. One thing birds are not known for — they don’t have anxiety attacks. Birds don’t get stressed out.

Worrying about what’s going on in your life and around your life is not going to fix the problem. God is a God who can handle worry. He can fix what no other person can fix. We all need to declare to ourselves: “I’m not worried about my job, God will sustain me. I’m not worried about my health, God is a healer of my body. I’m not worried about who has done me wrong, or falsely accused me, because I know God has the last word for me.

The song goes, “He has you and me, sister, in His hands, He has you and me, brother, in His hands. God has the whole wide world in His hands.” And because He has the whole world in His hand, we will trust in the Lord with all our heart. All we need on our mind right now and going forward is knowing that our Savior has gone to the cross for our redemption. He has done everything on a tree to give us eternal life. Keep that in the forefront of your mind.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph A. Perry is pastor of St. Mark AME Zion Church. Contact him at josephp134@gmail.com.