Life is wonderful, however there are times when it doesn’t seem so wonderful, especially when you are worried about a problem or situation that you are facing. Bobby McFerrin wrote the song, “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” It is a popular song played on the radio and other media thousands and thousands of time. The social-rhetorical message that he sent all over the world is this: “In every life we have some trouble but when you worry you make it double; Don’t worry, be happy.” The last lines of the lyrics say it all: “Ain’t got no cash, Ain’t got no style, Ain’t got no gal to make you smile, Don’t worry be happy, Cause when you worry your face will frown and that will bring everybody down.”
I thought that I would share a bit of Mr. McFerrin’s song to encourage you. Today is a time to put your worries aside. You might be faced with a problem you don’t know how to resolve or a health problem. You might be going through a divorce or separation or having financial distress. The answer to your problems lies with God and not self-masking. In each of these situations and others, the answer to your problem lies in knowing the power of God. Too often, we turn to the wrong sources to resolve or get relief from our situation. Some people think that the best solution is through social outlets.
There is biblical story about a Jewish boy who experienced everything that we will face. He became the leader of 70 men and women who he had recruited for his mission. His organization included a zealot who hated the Romans and a tax collector who worked for them. People accused him of being out of his mind. The great author Max Lucado writes that he “was angry enough to purge the temple, distraught enough to weep in public, fun-loving enough to be called a drunkard, winsome enough to attract kids, poor enough to borrow a coin for a sermon illustration, radical enough to get kicked out of town, responsible enough to care for his mother, tempted enough to know the smell of evil, and anxious enough to sweat blood before his death.”
Social outlets such as social clubs are not always the answer to your problem. They may be great at helping you mask the problem for the moment. But when the light of day comes, and you are in the confines of your home, you will be disappointed in your solution. Trying to hide your problem behind a mask doesn’t make the problem go away. However, throughout the history of humanity, when an individual had a problem and took the problem to God, they’ve felt much better knowing that he would guide them through the messes, mistakes and tough times we often have in life. So Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!
By Chaplain Ghosten
chaplain@lhp.net
