Worry

October 3, 2007

Dear Friend,

Worry, worry, worry! Do you every worry about anything? Good, then this Pastor’s Corner is for you! I think all of us worry to some extent. Perhaps we like to use more manly words like “concerned” and “just being a little anxious,” but it’s still worry! And there so much to worry about. Classes, performance, goals, others, the weather, plans, and...the list goes on and on. 

Did you know over 70 times in the Bible we find the words “Don’t be afraid”? And the majority of the time it’s a supernatural person saying that to a human. And I think it’s good advice for each of us today. “Don’t be afraid.  Of whatever it is that you are focused on. Don’t worry!”

I think worry is a lot like resentment, anger, bitterness, or jealousy. You can’t just stop it with one try; and the more you let it go on its own, the more it begins to run your life.  When Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled,” He was trying to show us that worry is a rut that we have to choose to get out of. It has to be a conscious decision, and it’s not a decision we make once. We have to continue to make the choice. This is why Paul can say, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” It was a choice he made. It didn’t happen overnight, though; he had to learn it. But once he learned it, he could say that it didn’t matter what the circumstances, he chose to be content. “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”  Philippians 4:11-13

There are two things to remember as we learn to replace our worry with contentment. The first one is that trials make us better people. Just as exercise makes your muscles grow, the wind makes trees stronger, the spring storms make the summer greener, so trials help to build our faith and endurance. So we have to come to expect difficulties, instead of acting as if they are a big surprise, and always worrying about if they are going to happen to us! “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The other thing to remember is we really need to believe that God has the strength to get us through the test of tomorrow and will not allow something too big to come our way. God is able! Worry looks at the impossibilities, the “can’t be done,” but trust looks at God. Trust doesn’t wishfully say that God will do it my way, but says, “I know God has a way. I trust in Him!” One of the best ways to increase your faith in God is to read about His power, and if you read over the following verses your faith will grow!  Psalms 56:3, 11, Psalm 91, 2 Kings 6:15-17, Isaiah 41:10, 13, Matthew 6:25-34,  Acts 20:32, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Ephesians 3:20, 2 Timothy 1:12, Hebrews 2:18, Hebrews 7:25, Jude 24, 25

Remember, you can’t change the future; but you can change where your focus is. Focus on Jesus!

Mark