“How did school go today?” I asked my wife, Norma. As a grade school teacher she often had interesting experiences to share about her lively fourth grade students. “Well,” she replied, “today I had recess duty on the playground, and as the kids came running out the door, racing as usual to get first choice at the swings, etc., Susie did a flip on the ice and knocked out two front teeth.” Her irate mother arrived soon with threats to sue the school and the teacher on duty. Having read about how wild these lawsuits can get, we were very concerned. With a lawsuit these days you can get wiped out very easily and since Norma was managing her aged mother’s accounts, we feared also for the safety of those funds.

As the weeks passed we constantly suffered attacks of worry over the uncertainly of the outcome of this unwelcome circumstance. We searched our Bibles for any word of encouragement we could find. Psalm 62 was so helpful.

5 My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. (NKJV)

One day Norma was called to the prosecutor’s office for a deposition. As the lawyer carefully worded his questions to her, he began repeating the same question, but worded in a slightly different way. She responded each time with the same answer, and finally, exasperated, instead of giving the same answer again she replied, “What is it that you WANT me to say?” Knowing he could be in trouble for his excessive pressure and that this was all being taped he quickly responded, “I have no further questions.” But this was not the end of the matter.

During the weeks of waiting and worrying that followed, we discovered other portions of Scripture that then became real and precious to us. We would memorize them and quote them often to each other. We learned that even people who have difficulty memorizing Scripture find how much they CAN memorize when the pressure is strong enough!

One day a registered letter came that we had to sign for. With mixed emotions we opened it and found the exciting news that Norma’s name had been dropped from the lawsuit. Praise the Lord! Later we heard that the school district settled out of court so our worries were over.

Jesus had given some very disturbing news to His disciples and they were greatly troubled. So He sought to encourage them with the words found in John 14:1, “Let not your heart be troubled”(NKJV). But how can you not let your heart be troubled when the worry just keeps coming back? In those difficult months we learned many practical lessons on how to refuse to worry.