| Daily Devotional for November 6, 2024 Every Thanksgiving, my grandmother would make pies from scratch. They were incredibly good. Unfortunately, my grandmother would continually worry that the pies didn’t turn out as good as she wanted. In fact, I can still remember one Thanksgiving where my grandmother was fretting over the quality of the pies. My grandfather smiled and said, “Hardly fit to eat,” as he put another bite in his mouth. I got the Worry Gene from my grandmother. Yesterday, Shannon’s caregiver, Jo, was late because she had voted first thing in the morning. This was something we had planned for. Once Jo arrived, it was my turn. This was something I was very worried about. Standing for any period of time has become a real issue. I have already seen the surgeon and am scheduled for an MRI but after having four back surgeries and experiencing the exact same symptoms, I am pretty sure what the end result will be. Knowing I would have to stand in a long line to vote had me consumed with worry. I had to vote but I wasn’t sure I would be able to do it. As I pulled out of the front gate to drive to Troy to cast my vote, I got an unexpected text from Drew. He wrote: “If you wanna vote, Northside Church of Christ by Buc-ee’s has no lines.” I quickly drove to the church. Sure enough, I walked straight in, was immediately handed a ballot and escorted to a voting screen. It could not have been a quicker process. That was the moment I realized I had needlessly wasted a lot of time and energy worrying for nothing. I do this a lot. I worry about Shannon, my ability to care for her, our children and grandchildren, the church, the nation, my list of worries goes on and on….In fact, the only thing I never worry about are my good looks and my incredible sermons. Everything else falls into the worry column. Don’t get me wrong. I do give my worries to God. The problem is I always take them back. My grandmother did the same thing. If you inherited my grandmother’s Worry Gene, don’t give in to it. Worry has to do with the “what if’s” of the future, most of which never come to fruition. If that is the case, why worry? Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34) Don’t be like my grandmother and don’t be like me. Give your worries to God and leave them there. I promise the Maker of the Universe can carry whatever burdens you down. Prayer: Dear Gracious Heavenly God, please give me the wisdom to give my worries to you and not take them back. Remind me no matter what happens, you are in control. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. I have wasted a lot of my life worrying about things that never happened. I hope you don’t. I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter. Tom Robbins |
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Daily Devotionals by Dr. Tom Robbins 