Daily Devotional
Is Worry Harmful to Your Health?

September 6, 2023

Ponder This

When I was young, someone told me something I’ve never forgotten: “Adrian, there are two categories of things you should never worry about. Number one: things that you can do something about. If you can do something about it, don’t worry about it, do it. The second category you should never worry about: things you can't do anything about. If you can’t do anything about it, worry is not going to change it.” Now that may seem simplistic, but there’s a lot of wisdom there. At best, worry is useless; at worst, worry is absolutely harmful.

Worry is harmful to you physically. It’ll do the same thing to you physiologically that sand will do to machinery. Someone said that little ants can pick the carcass of a dead animal cleaner than lions can. It seems like it’s those little nagging things that ultimately pull us down. Not only is worry harmful to you, but it’s also harmful to others. Do you like to be around people who worry all the time? I know individuals, when they walk into a room it seems like somebody just turned the lights off, and they brighten up the room when they leave it. Worry is harmful to you and it’s harmful to other people.

• What do you tend to worry about the most?
• How have you seen the harm and damage of worry in your life?

Practice This

Talk with a trusted friend about the things that worry you most.