Glenn Turner says, “Worrying is like rocking in a rocking chair.  It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere.”  That makes one believe that worrying leads to nothing, which can’t be true.  If God tells us not to worry, He must be protecting us from something.  However, if the essence of the statement is that worrying doesn’t move us forward- in a positive direction-  the statement has more credibility. 

Several things happen to us when we spend our time worrying.  We experience fear, anxiety, irrational thoughts, uneasiness, misery, declines in health, and weakened faith.  Our energy and motivation to live our lives as He planned suffers, and we lose the ability to think clearly and explore positive options when we’re preoccupied with what we can’t control. 

Turner linked worrying with rocking, but research (from the University of Rochester) informs that rocking stimulates the body, elevates our mood, relieves pain, and appears to reduce symptoms associated with anxiety and depression (livestrong.com).  So, there’s no positive relationship between worrying and rocking, just as there’s no positive relationship between living well and worrying.

We can make plans for tomorrow and live today.  To live well, we need to be present and deliberate about our actions, showing up to work on time, avoiding negative conversations, using time to balance productivity with rest, encouraging friends through difficulties, blessing strangers with kind words and a Godly example, and the list goes on.  We really shouldn’t have time to be preoccupied with what is yet to happen when we’re focused on what needs to be done right now.   There’s no need to borrow tomorrow’s troubles, since it only burdens today’s realities (Benson Commentary, 2019).  Instead, occupy today.

Life is a well-thought-out gift from God (Jeremiah 29:11).   We have the assurance that the same God who was present and working on our behalf yesterday will be present today and in the days to come.