We live in tense times. Terror, a fragile economy, debt, cultural upheaval, a rise in cultural rejection of Christianity and government shutdown all contribute to an increase in worries. Perhaps we feel like the song writer who said: “Anxieties bash my mind in, terrorizing my soul like Bin Laden” (Black Eyed Peas) Worry is a state of anxiety generated by fear of what you do not know or cannot control. Worry manifests itself in thoughts, images and emotions that are negative and threatening. Worry is the mental attempt to mitigate those threats. Worry is total. It might begin in one place, but it takes over everything. As Robert Wise wrote…

Freshman at college are clueless. I know because I was one only five years ago (I am a consummate late bloomer). My fellow freshmen and I arrived at school without the faintest idea where anything was or how to get to the right classroom (this was hugely complicated by the random arrangement of room numbers in the Sweeting building at Moody Bible Institute). However, being clueless is a worry only if no one has a clue. As long as one person knows enough, the rest don’t have to. So the angst of a group of clueless freshmen is largely relieved by the presence of a singular (and honest) upperclassman. For Christians wandering around the world (occasionally in a…