Be Happy and Don’t Worry

Well, if you have been around for a while, you may have heard this song from 1988, Don’t Worry, Be Happy, by Bobby McFerrin.  It’s a catchy little tune that has a lot of wisdom in it.  One verse says: “Cause when you worry your face will frown and that will bring everybody down, so don’t worry, be happy.” 

These days there are so many things to worry about, but does it do us any good?  No, it usually has a negative effect on our outlook and our health.  I once heard it said:  Worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair, you are doing something but you never get anywhere.  That about sums it up.   Worrying does not solve anything, change anything, or make us feel better.  It is a troubling human condition that needs a heavenly solution.  We need a God size answer to worry- and that is prayer.  Plain and simple.  We must pray and give it to God and try not to take it back.  If we do, pray again.  We may have to pray every day or even several times a day, and that is great.  The more we pray the better we will feel and the more impact we may have on the situation.   The biggest chapter in my book, A Student of Life, is about prayer.  Why?  Because there are so many good things to say about prayer. I say, let us try praying instead of worrying. Why not give it a try?  What do we have to lose?

I love the way this is phrased in the Message translations.  It’s simply beautiful.

Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message) ^6-7 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.

Are any of you with me?  Can we replace that frown with a smile?  Can we lift people up instead of bringing them down?  Hey I’m with you, I sometimes slip into the worry trap too.  Let’s all seek the heavenly solution.

My prayer:

Lord, it seems like the first thing I start to do is worry and get upset.  Lord there are just so many things going on in the world that are negative and evil. Often there are things with family and friends that worry me as well. Give me that nudge to always come to you first every time.   Lord even when I’m talking about things with friends or family, give me another nudge to stop and start a prayer time with them about our concerns. Thank you for being there for me Lord.  And I thank you in advance for the answers and the peace.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

God Bless,

Sally