Have you ever watched a hamster run on a wheel?
You ever wonder why they do that? I honestly have no idea. I was hoping you did.
But for some reason they will run as hard and fast as they can on a wheel that is going nowhere.
Kinda stupid, huh? I suppose I shouldn’t fault the hamsters. They were made with small brains.
I think God views our worrying in much the same way. He must get frustrated with us. He desires so much for us to draw near to Him and trust in His ability to give us immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. And yet we, like the small-minded hamster, spend much of our lives in fruitless, unproductive worry over things we have no control over.
The irony is 99.9% of the things you worry about will never come to pass. Think about the things you worried over just a year ago. What’s that? You can’t remember them? Yes, me neither. It’s the things I never see coming that life tends to blindside me with. For all the things we worry over, we are wrong on most of them.
Jesus put it far better when He said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:24-25)
It’s rather humbling to consider that all the worry, stress and anxiety we build up in life is kind of like a hamster trying to get out of its cage by running on that silly wheel. You and I both know he’s not going anywhere, but still he runs his heart out.
We do, too. Worry robs of us of our best energy, passion, productivity and brain power. I shudder to think of all the opportunities we’ve missed merely because we were too busy running our hearts out.
This week, take a break from running on your wheel of worry. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) Pray to God about the things that trouble your heart the most.
When you give those things to God, I guarantee they will trouble you no longer.