DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. 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.
Phillipians 4:6-7 (New LivingTranslation)
I am good at worrying. I am particularly good at worrying in the middle of the night. It turns out that composer Irving Berlin had the same problem and could not sleep well due to stress. When Berlin went to his doctor about the problem in 1954, the doctor’s advice was turned into a hit song, sung by Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney in the film, White Christmas:
When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings.
By 1988, people were still worrying. Another song writer -- Bobbie McFerrin -- took a crack at the topic. McFerrin’s version was even more successful than Irving Berlin’s song, winning the 1989 Grammy for Song of the Year:
Don’t worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry, you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy.
What neither composer did was mention prayer, as Paul wrote in the passage above to the church in Phillipi, a Greek trading city. He had a good reason to worry – on his last trip to Phillipi , Paul was beaten and arrested for releasing a demon from a slave girl. At the time he wrote the letter, scholars believe that Paul was again imprisoned, this time in Rome. The Christian church in Phillipi was having internal issues as some members were returning to pagan ways. If there ever was a time in Paul’s life when he needed God’s help, this was it. So, if Paul can tell us not to worry from a Roman prison, then we need to follow his advice to pray to God about what we need in 2024.
Humming along to either tune above, is optional!
Prayer: Lord, it is easy to forget that we can bring our worries to you in prayer. Thank you for your past help when we were in need. May our prayers bring peace of mind. Amen.
Carol Rice
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