“All our steps are directed by the Lord;
how then can we understand our own ways?”
~Proverbs 20:24 (NRSV).
In the safety profession I’m involved in the term “Zero Harm” often comes up. It’s a visionary phrase that companies aspire to reach—not hurting one single person, piece of equipment or the environment; not one single time.
“Zero Worry” is a similar thing; it’s an aspiration for us to strive for.
Grappling With An At-Times Confused Life
We cannot help be confused and confounded by life. Contending in a world that often leaves us blank for a response quite simply underscores the meaning in the above proverb.
God is in control and we can only go along with the plan of God as it’s revealed to us.
This doesn’t place us in a powerless position as much as it seems. It merely hones us into the fact that worry is pointless—we cannot change a hair or one thousandth of an inch beyond the will of God.
It doesn’t allay our need to take responsibility; it encourages us to take responsibility for our lives. We have our wills and when they’re joined to God’s we’re agreeing with the mystery of life. And what point is there in not agreeing with it? Life is a mystery, point blank.
The Worry-Free Life
This life is about affirmative action and it doesn’t come overnight.
If we’re beyond the scaling mess of life and we almost expect the bad to come with the good, and we’re still optimistic and future-focused, we can live more realistically and courageously, making the absolute most of our opportunities to plan and prepare for whatever we can foresee that might come. We’re simply being as proactive as we can be.
We’ll still be surprised. We’ll still have bad days. But these things won’t knock us off course as much as they once did. We’ll live more confidently and resiliently and day after day and month after month of this life will see us grow exponentially in our faith.
Then living with Zero Worry may not seem like such a pipedream after all.
© 2010 S. J. Wickham.
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