Laughter And Worry

She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.  Proverbs 31:25

How many readers think this verse from Proverbs is talking about them?  This past week I crossed paths with a few folks who seemed to be consumed with fear and worry about the future.  I can tell you that they were not laughing at the days to come and I struggled to help them move from worry to peaceful faith.  As I thought and prayed about these conversations I found this verse and it made me smile.

Have you ever stopped to think about what makes one person worry and another one not worry at all?  Some of us look to the future and smile; others look the same direction and feel a pang of worry, dread and maybe even fear.  Some might say worrying is just a part of your hard-wiring but I suppose we all carry a little bit of worry with us most days.  I read once that there is a big difference between worry and concern.  Being concerned about something inspires us to organize, call on resources and to handle things as best we can and leave the rest to God.  Worry is more like doing everything possible and still fretting about God being able to do the rest according to your plan.

When the boys were little they had some plastic toy swords and the movie Peter Pan.  They would have sword fights anywhere; the barn, kitchen, and yard you name it they would imagine a scene and play like crazy.  Surprisingly, there were no casualties until the night they snuck the swords under the covers.  The fight that night was a small disaster leaving two little boys with some red marks, a black eye and a giant scrape to the belly.  When the dust settled and we were trying to sort it all out, the problem boiled down to the darkness.  In the light, they could see and anticipate what was coming but in the darkness of their bedroom they couldn’t anticipate and react to what they couldn’t see coming.   They lost their guide and their protection. 

The Proverbs 31 woman who can laugh at days to come is one who doesn’t sit in the darkness of worry.  Why? What makes her so immune to the worries and woes of the day? I think the answer to that question comes in the first part of the verse; strength and dignity.  The really important part of the puzzle though is the realization that the strength and dignity come from God not from the world or within.  When we think of strength, we typically think of muscles and physical power which requires work to attain.  When we talk about strength from God the opposite is true.  In order to be powered by the strength of God we have to do nothing but rest in him and know he will do all the heavy lifting!  Gods strength sees all the obstacles and shifts in the path, he simply asks that we let him love us enough to maneuver us through them.  If we can’t rely on God’s strength it’s kind of like having a sword fight in the dark; there is no way to anticipate and react to what we can’t see coming.

Laughing at the future doesn’t mean we see what’s coming; it means we are strong enough to face it because we know God will defend, protect and love us through whatever comes our way.  He loves us too much to put us in a situation that is beyond what we need.  Yes, sometimes we need struggle and difficulty but he knows how much and for what reason.  We need to work on laughing at the days to come because when it all boils down to the bottom of the pot, it’s kind of funny that we should worry about something God has already orchestrated right down to the most teeny tiny detail.

A Seed To Plant: Make a list of the things that worry you.  Ask God to bring you strength this week as you pray daily for him to transform your worry to peace.

Blessings on your day!