Are you a worried chicken?
Robert Clements
Sunday, January 02, 2011 - Quite a few years ago, as a little child, I read the story of a little worried chicken, running along the road, and after a while met by another chicken, “Why do you look so worried?” asked the second one. “I am scared the sky will fall on my head!” said the first chicken, looking fearfully at the sky above. The other hen also looked up at the sky, and suddenly the otherwise friendly sky above, did look ominous and scary. The story goes that the whole chicken coop joined the two and soon every chicken was filled with worry as they looked at the sky above. Funny story isn’t it? But most of us worry likewise: We look at something that seems a little fearful, and begin to unnecessarily look at it with apprehension. Just imagine that same chicken landing up later in hospital, and the doctor looks at it sadly,
“You’ve had a cardiac arrest!” “Cardiac arrest?” asks its friend, “Why?” “Worrying that the sky will fall on her head!” says the doctor as another chicken is wheeled in with the same problem. Worry kills. And we need to work out ways to handle worry before we land up in hospital. What should we do with this killer? Replace it. Telling somebody not to worry doesn’t work. Worry is like an emotional spasm; the only way to break it is to replace it. ‘... Whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things’ In other words, switch the channel! Dissect it. ‘...Fear involves torment...’ Worry torments you; your imagination runs amok, conjuring up all kinds of scary scenarios. But it’s also illogical; when you take it apart rationally and systemically, it loses its power to control you. Rise above it. A well-known person was flying over the Mississippi River one day when the sky grew dark. ‘We can’t see where we’re going!’ he exclaimed. Calmly the pilot replied, ‘We just need to rise above the ground heat, dust and smoke.’ After climbing another 300 metres they emerged into a clear, beautiful world. Corrie Ten Boom called faith ‘the radar that pierces through the fog.’
When worry tries to fog you in, you can rise above it by placing your trust in the Lord. ‘...Those who trust in the Lord...will soar...like eagles...’ Ah! An eagle! That’s what you need to be, an eagle soaring into the sky, not a chicken looking up at the same sky and dying with worry..!
—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com
“You’ve had a cardiac arrest!” “Cardiac arrest?” asks its friend, “Why?” “Worrying that the sky will fall on her head!” says the doctor as another chicken is wheeled in with the same problem. Worry kills. And we need to work out ways to handle worry before we land up in hospital. What should we do with this killer? Replace it. Telling somebody not to worry doesn’t work. Worry is like an emotional spasm; the only way to break it is to replace it. ‘... Whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things’ In other words, switch the channel! Dissect it. ‘...Fear involves torment...’ Worry torments you; your imagination runs amok, conjuring up all kinds of scary scenarios. But it’s also illogical; when you take it apart rationally and systemically, it loses its power to control you. Rise above it. A well-known person was flying over the Mississippi River one day when the sky grew dark. ‘We can’t see where we’re going!’ he exclaimed. Calmly the pilot replied, ‘We just need to rise above the ground heat, dust and smoke.’ After climbing another 300 metres they emerged into a clear, beautiful world. Corrie Ten Boom called faith ‘the radar that pierces through the fog.’
When worry tries to fog you in, you can rise above it by placing your trust in the Lord. ‘...Those who trust in the Lord...will soar...like eagles...’ Ah! An eagle! That’s what you need to be, an eagle soaring into the sky, not a chicken looking up at the same sky and dying with worry..!
—Email:bobsbanter@gmail.com
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