Can your worries add a single moment to your life?

No.

For weeks now, I’ve been worried about something. So worried that I can’t sleep well on some nights - I find myself tossing and turning, thinking worrying about this thing.

I’m a believer and I have seen tangible answers to my prayers many times, but with this specific one, I’ve found myself giving it to God and yanking it right back from him.

So today, I went to my favourite verse on worrying in Matthew 6 and I sat with this question - “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭27‬ ‭‬‬

For some context, the verses before and after this question address how we worry about money and clothing, but I think it works for any other thing in life that we tend to worry about.

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing,” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭28‬ ‭‬‬

“yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭29‬-‭30‬

Mobolaji (insert your name), aren’t you far more valuable than lilies?

To bring this verse to life, I googled ”lilies” so I could see what God was referring to and mahn, those flowers are beautiful!

So if they don’t worry about how they’re going to blossom (because God takes care of that), why do I (who is made in the image and likeness of God) worry about things that God knows about?

This has led me to making a list below, a list of things I’ve worried about in the past that didn’t eventually happen how terribly I thought they would:

• 2012/2013 - got admission late and thought all my mates had gone ahead of me in life, but looking back, God has granted me speed and restored the years I thought were lost.

• 2014-2017 - there were many semesters I thought I’ll be sent out of university because of my fees but it never happened. I ended up graduating with a first class.

• 2018 - i thought that i would certainly lose my faith after the death of my mother but 5 years on, God has daily comforted me and I’m right here still following Jesus.

• 2020 - wanted to get back to having a 9to5 but thought I’ll certainly have to toil for it but I was favoured beyond what I imagined and ended up with a job where I met many of my close friends.

• 2022 - i applied for Tech Nation (an immigration route to the UK) and thought it was only meant for certain types of people but I got a quick and favourably response to my application.

• 2023 - i worried that getting a job was taking too long and that I’ll soon need to depend on others, but God provided a good job with good colleagues in a city I’m falling in love with.

These are just some of the things I can share as there are some answers to worries prayers that are so personal, I can’t even share them.

So I’ve written this as a way to take stock, to remember (because as humans we tend to quickly forget the extent God has gone in the past to blow our minds).

I’ve also written this for you because I want you to also remember where you’re coming from and to remind yourself of the many things you dreaded in the past that just never happened.

And as you end this note, take a moment to ask yourself “Can your worries add a single moment to your life?”

The real answer will always be “no”.