“Will it help?”

A few months ago, I watched a few scenes of the “Bridge of Spies” movie. I didn’t watch it to the end but the first few scenes made an impression in my heart. One of the main characters was arrested and accused of being a spy. The attorney assigned to him couldn’t help but comment on how unperturbed his “client” was about the gravity of the case facing him. Each time the attorney mentioned that he didn’t look worried about the case against him, his calm response was

“Will it help?”

The way you respond to this simple 3-word question determines how complex your life is or not.

When you worry, at least 6 things happen to you:

• Wear yourself out - drain your energy
• Open yourself to Panic attacks
• React without thinking things through 
• Rob yourself of peace of mind
• You miss out on enjoying the moment

Think about it,

How will worrying about anything help?

Has worrying ever helped you in life?

Well it hasn’t helped me so far so I decided again that any time the “Worry-Bug” wants to bite and bug me, I’ll ask myself the same 3-word question. God knows that it’s not beneficial and has given us a “Release valve” when worry wants to trap us. It’s found in Philippians 4:6 -7:

⁶ Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. ⁷Before 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. (MSG)

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (NLT)

In other words, rather than worry, worship and then “war” in the Place of Prayer.

So the next time you feel the urge to worry ask yourself “Will it help?”


Addendum:
Believe it or not, the same day I finally wrote up this piece and set it up to be posted later, the Lord tested me. I misplaced a bracelet and only realized when I woke up at about 4am. I tossed and turned mentally retracing my steps the previous evening and thinking up a plan - I'm sure you know that I had to be awake to do that. Just then the Holy Spirit gently asked "Will it help?" Oops...of course, the answer was "No" so rather than lie there without peace or sleep, I got up and did some pending work. When I was exhausted, I went back to bed.


The next morning, by the time I asked the 3rd person if they had seen my bracelet someone was bringing out one "Lost and Found" item  - yes, it was my bracelet. So imagine if I denied myself sleep over a bracelet. In fact even if I didn't find it at all, it sure was not worth losing sleep over. Lord, thank You for the lesson and the blessing of recovery.