Don’t Worry. Be Happy!

Allow me to get on my soapbox for a minute here and have a little fun…

How many of you remember that hit from the late 80s, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? It’s jazz singer Bobby McFerrin’s song, and it’s been a chart-topper from the get-go.

Amazingly, the original version of the song is completely a cappella, which means it was composed entirely with McFerrin’s voice, with no other instruments!

But, the idea behind the song was what really drew people—that even when everything goes wrong, we can still choose not to worry…and more than that—instead of worrying, we can be happy.

Now I don’t know if Bobby McFerrin ever read the teachings of Jesus (I hope he has), but Jesus said something pretty similar about worry.

In Matthew 6, basically, Jesus pointed out how flowers and birds have to rely on God to help them get their needs met.

Birds are one of the most fragile creatures in all of creation, right? They’re tiny. And they don’t farm or harvest crops…But, they always have as much food as they need!

Lilies don’t create their own beauty. But, God gives them such awesome “clothes” that they regularly get their pictures taken!

The takeaway is this: no matter how helpless birds and flowers are, God takes care of their needs.

And if He does that for those parts of creation, there’s no way He won’t do WAY MORE than that for His children that He loves!

The trouble with worrying is it doesn’t change the circumstances we find ourselves in, it only changes us in those circumstances. When we allow worry to dominate our thoughts, we think and live as if we don’t even know God…because when we don’t trust Him, we live like He’s divorced from our circumstances.

Jesus makes a great point in Matthew 6:27: after all that stress, we still haven’t added even a second to our lives!

So here are two things we can do this week, instead of worrying.

First, Seek God.

He already knows what you’re worried about, so you might as well bring it to Him in prayer! God loves it when we throw all of our worries onto his shoulders because He loves us. And personally, I find it very hard to worry when the words “God” or “Jesus” come out of my mouth…When you invite God into the mix, worries don’t have to control you. Instead, they become a way to get closer to your Creator.

Second, Be Happy!

Our culture loves the idea of happiness, and promotes all different ways to find it…but money, achievements, and fame ultimately don’t satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. The Bible takes a different direction on what happiness is—the fruit of a deep and abiding relationship with God.

So, my friend, don’t worry. Trust God. Seek Him.

Then, and only then, will you be happy.

Questions to think about:

What are you worried about lately?
How can you take steps to build a deep and abiding relationship with God?

Prayer for today:

Pray that God would open your eyes to His blessings and care, and that your heart would be full of gratitude and thanksgiving.

Let’s also pray that God would help us develop a deep and trusting relationship with Him, and that it would lead to a deeper sense of satisfaction.