Don't Worry; Be Happy

Rev 2:10a 'Stop being afraid of what you are about to be suffering. Listen indeed! (ALT)

Were you the typical child that had a relatively worry-free life? You trusted your parents to care for all your basic needs. There was food, clothing and shelter all taken for granted. You trusted them to provide healthcare and believed them when they said you would be feeling well again in no time at all. There was never a lack of hours in a day to find time for yourself. There was social activity within the family and without in your neighborhood and school. There was always, and I repeat always, an opportunity to learn something new and to retain it. Death was a foreign concept to you. Prejudice was not yet known. Red-tape was a term you were not yet introduced to. We had it all and was too young to comprehend the abundant blessing of our life before the process of inevitable growing-up set in.

Perhaps no one can exactly place a day and time that trust began to ebb out of their life and slowly be replaced by anxiety, cares and concerns. But happen it did. Here we are in this realm in our life where innocence of those times are just a remote memory. Reality stalks us daily. Past experiences have flavored us negatively. Statistics regarding our age group doesn't put a spin on high expectations. We do fear what the end of our lives will involve.

We have the opportunity to encompass Jesus' words to us today. When he speaks, "Stop being afraid of what you are about to be suffering," He did not say, "You will suffer; be afraid." Do you see the difference between projecting fear or accepting encouragement? In my formative years, I can still recall two catch phrases: 1) What, me worry? 2) Don't worry; be happy. Is that not exactly what Jesus attempted to say in this passage two thousand years ago that is still relevant this very day? Listen indeed!