Let Go of Worry

Introduction

Introduce self

Dismiss Children

Continuing our series “traveling light” and I tell you these last 3 are just great. Today we are looking at a topic I believe each of you either deal with or have dealt with.

Even as a young person, adults, senior saint, and no matter your socio economic status, this will apply to you.

That is the topic of Worry.

How many of you have ever been worried?

People worry about a whole mess of things. I looked up a few different lists from various sources online and here are the top 5 things that are generally shared by all people:

Worry over work-am I good enough, do I like it, am I going to get promoted, am I going to et fird?

Worry about money-Where is going to come from? Will i have enough.

Worry about health- Especially asa you age. Many of you have told me getting old isn’t for the weak of heart. Aging brings challenges.

Worrying about what others think-Teenagers, you are not the only ones who do this. Unfortunately it runs into adulthood as well.

Worry about the past-Things you wish you could change. Things you did or didn’t do, said or didn’t say.

Ever worried about one of those thing? Yea, most have.

Ok great. Now, how many of you are ready to hear from God’s Word about worry and how to thrive during worrisome times?

Character-Person burdened by worry

I had a meeting last week with a group of people and I made a lot of disney movie references that I thought fell flat… so I’m hoping you can get the reference for this one.

Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? Remember Nemo’s dad, Marlin. In that first movie, he is constantly worried. Worried about what his son is doing or going to do.

Or maybe the movie inside out? Remember the fear character? He was always worried about something happening.

And this is really the root of worry isn’ it? fear.

Afraid of what will happen in a situation.

Some of you know what it is to really worry and be afraid of though. Worry where the next meal is coming from. Worry whether the kid is coming back to Christ. Worry whether the money will be there for the next payment or if tthe company is going to fulfill the contract and you keep your job.

Worry about the finals you have to take or worry about how your gonna pay for college.

Worrying about healtth money or relationship issues.

Worrying happens.

And just when you get past one thing your worried about. Something else comes along.

Problem- There is always something to worry about

I’ve only been alive 36 years and in those 36 years I don’t there has ever been a day where that hasn’t been something to worry about. Maybe something small maybe somthing big. But if you are looking for it, you can always find something to worry about.

In our day you don’t have to look for it. Watch the news for 10 minutes and you’ll have plenty to worry about. If you haven’t set your social up properly by manipulating the algorithm, you probably getting news, conspiraccys, and world ending things bombrding you.

I mean, how coculd you not worry when the aliens have replaced Joe Biden and other celebreities. Who’s next?

Every conspriacy theorist in the room just lit up. “I’ve gotta google that.”

Worry doesn’t happen to you, it happens becuase of you.

Agitated-Physical, mental, and spiritual impact. Impacted as a whole person

You choose to have worry in your life and when you choose that, you are choosing to allow your whole person to be impacted negatively.

Did you know Worry and stress can trigger a range of physical health problems, including headaches, muscle tension or pain, fatigue, and disturbances in sleep patterns. Over time, chronic worry can contribute to more serious health issues like heart disease, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system.

It increases anxiety, consume a lot of your thought life and impact your cognitive function?

It will leave you emotionally exhausted, create disconnection between you and God, and cause you to feel hopeless about the situation that you are in.

All of the things that we need to let go of to travel lighter in this life to best live with and for Jesus, are things that negatively impact us. they re things that will hurt us as a whole person.

And when we are hurting or suffering, we will find ourselves hurting others. Sometimes intentionally but most often unintentionally. becuase we are operating from a plce of fear.

We are afraid of not having enough money…that can lead to illegally obtaining it or overworking yourself to the point your no good for anyone.

We are afraid of being hurt in a relationship…That can led to distancing, overly loving, or anger to protect ourselves.

We are afraid of what other people think…so we conform to the image of what they want us to be never actually living from our identity in Jesus and just letting people accept us for who we are in Him.

We are afraid of being judged by our past…so we dwell on it and never accept God’s forgiveness for it. Living in a constant stay of guilt and shame.

If you have ever sufferedd under significant worry you know what it is to go to sleep with it on your mind, wake up, be woken up through out the night, and have your life dramatically impacted.

Many have been there but we can’t stay there. We can’t choose to allow the worry to dominate our lives.

Solution- Trusting God and His Word

What’s the other choice we have? If there is a choice to worry then there is a choice to no worry but I don’t think it’s as simple as that.

Don’t you love when people like me will make things that simple?

“Pastor I really struggle with worrying.” “I’m sorry to hear that. Just stop worrying.”

I’m real helpful aren’t I?

Truthfully though I believe we overcomplicate some of these decisions But realize…that’s normal. Aand overcoming worry or other emotions that you deal with starts with that choice but then you have to ask how. How am I going to over come this?

Then talk with yourself, a wise counselor, and obviously the Lord through prayer and His word, to get the answers to that question then take your steps of faith.

James said a man that knows to do good, and we would all agree that casting yoru cares on Jesus are good, and does it not, to him it is sin.

Guide- Israel and Saul, church family

In scripture we can find the examples of the Israelites in the dessert and the first king od Isrel, Saul.

The Isrelites were constantly worried about what they had or didn’t have. Even though God had proven Himself faithul in miraculous ways they worried.

Saul worried and got anxious which lead him to making a decision that lost him the throne.

When a person is engulfed by worry they are not known to make the best decisions. They dont’ think straight.

I don’t want you to be that person. I don’t believe God wants you to be that person. that’s why he said he will take care of all the things you worry about.

Remember the root of worry, is fear.

And what did Jesus say about fear or worry?

Journey-Matt 6:25-34 Embrace Faith through fear

Matthew 6:25 “25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

Jesus said to take no thought… for your life no thoguth for food or drink.

Let’s get some context here.

Could these people go to the local store and grab a bottle of water or a hot pockect?

No. When Jesus said these words indoor plumbing wasn’t a thing. They coudn’t turn their faucet on and get a drink. Food had to be farmed or killed. They were working less to thrive and more to survive.

Jesus is telling them “You know what consumes your life and allows you to cctuallyy live…don’t worry about it.”

He goes on to say isn’t life more than just food and clothes?

Following that he goes on

Matthew 6:26–29 “26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Life is more than clothes and food but one of the things you, the people Jesus is talking to, worry about the most is clothes and food.

Most people in America don’t know what it’s like to worry like this. We have, what we affectionatly call first world problems. You know, I’m out of bottled water, I may actually have to drink from a faucet. They didn’t have my brand of soda adn I had to get off brand…

Our basic needs are normally met. and glory to God for that.

The truth here is not just tht God will provide for our basic needs.

The truth is here that if God can provide for the important life giving needs in a wonderful way, what makes you think he would not ccare for the other things of life that really make it up.

Even during that time life was more than the food they consumed and the water they drank. It was about the people around them, the relationships they built, and the people they showed the loved of God too.

There are times when food may cause issues in reltionships.

In Baptist circles it’s well understood that food plays a big role in our get togethers and things. I grew up in the south, went to cchurch in arizona, and now here. All three love to hve potlucks. Nothing wrong with that. Especcially with some of that banna pudding. Thanks Mrs. Cathy for giving me those leftovers last time, I know I ate more than I should.

Now, I’ll be honest I don’t know if I’ve seen it here as much in the south but there was a reason you got these huge plates…You wanted to try everyones dish as not to offend.

And your undoubtly going to be asked, “hey what did you think of my pickled pigs feet?” and you have a moral conundrum right there…Tell the truth “I didn’t try it” or “They looked so good I wanted to make sure everyone got one before I did.”

Your interction with food ccould impct relationships.

But nothing will impacct your relationships more than worry. Your relationship with God, your relationship with your spouse, your children, your friends.

Why? Becuase worry ccomes from a place of fear. And fear causes us to respond in primarily 1 or twoways but some have broken these responses down to 5.

You’ve heard of fight or flight right?

When yyou have a fearful situation yyou either fight your way through it or fearfully run from it.

In the context of the people around us it’s either sparking a fight with them over the topic to protect our pride. It’s fearfully pushing them away or doing somethign so that they will go away.

There have been writings to suggest three other methods though.

Freeze, Flop, or friend.

Freeze is when you do nothing and just freeze. This is more about a physical attacck.

Flop is when your muscles get weak and about collapse.

or friend. You beg plead, and bargain. None of these responses mean you are ok with what is happening to you.

However, that is how our bodies that God made respond to fearful and worrisome situations.

So wht is it you do when worry comes?

1. Accept that it’s ok to experience fear and worry.

I believe we drastically misunderstand verses like

Philippians 4:6 “6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

1 John 4:18 “18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

While there may be some that never actually experience fear or worry and don’t know what those emotions are. I’m not one of them. I’m also not the chief of saints I’m more like Paul, chief of sinners. So some of you chief of saints could help me out here.

To experience these emotions is not wrong or sinful. To allow them to consume you and detract from the life God has called you to live is closer to sin than just experiencing the emotion.

It’s what you do once you feel the emotion that will impact you more than the emotion itself.

I think people feel bad about themselves and think poorly of themselves beccuase they feel fear or anxiety or worry. And now they are combining their worry with self loathing.

But if it wasn’t part of our nature, our makeup, to experience these things then why would God address them in His Word?

I want to free you from that guilt and shame if that’ you today, you are not a bad person, a bad chritian, or less in love with Jesus becuase you experience the emotin of fear or worry.

The question is when these feelings come, what will you do about them?

2. Trust God and His Word

If you are a follower of Jesus you have put enough trust for your eternal soul to be in His hands. And your not worried about that. Christian more readily hand over their eternal state to Jesus than they do their temporal problems.

You believe John 3:16, Romans 10:13, then we have to believe

Matthew 6:30–31 “30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”

Trust that he will care for the basic necessitaties as well as the things life is made of.

We cn pray for God to work in the lives of people and we shoudl alo pray for them to respond to His Work.

3. Have the proper perspective

When Paul wrote in Phillipians to take everything to God with thanksgiving, he was writing about what we have come to affectionatly know as an attitude of gratitude.

Even in our worry and fear, we can by faith give thanks. We can count our blessings and worship our God for the great things He has brought us through.

I’m not teling you it’s easy and I’m not telling you that once you make the decision you wn’t have to make it another day.

Let’s stop getting upset with our selves and making statements like “I sit it down at the cross one day and pick it up the next.”

Yea, that was expected. How do I know that?

Matthew 6:34 “34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

Don’t think bout if your going to worry tomorrow, you will. Choose to give your worries over to Jesus today.

You may hve to make the choice to give that worry over to jesus and not let it consume you today for a million days in a row. however what will happen when you reach the millionth day? You will look back on one million days you chose to give it to Jesus and will have not expeierneced the ccrippling effects of worry for 1 million days.

There is enough for you to concvern yourself with today that you can’t worry about tomorrows problems today and you can’t expect to jsut lay something that is bothering you intensly down once. But you can lay it down every dday until you are able to not pick it back up.

Resolution-Living with faith through worry

When you decide to live from a place of faith rather than fear, you are truly able to live in the freedom that Cchrist provides you.

Paul wrote

2 Timothy 1:7 “7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Of power, of strength to overcome the evils that surround us.

Of love, to lovingly lead and serve others. To love people and accept them for where they are and be there for them on their journey to who Christt wants them to be. Sometimes thats leading them, sometimes that’s walking beside them as they go.

And fo a sound mind or judgement. Use a sound mind to determine wheny ou need power or love to get through the situation.

Impact-Negative: continues interpersonal issues, whole person impacted. Positive-Better person to live from who Jesus made you to be who can positively impact those around you.

Are you going to continue to allow the worry of situations that are ultimately not in your control impact your life in a major way? Are you going to continue living from the fear of whatt could be? Do you want your marriage, your friendships, your work, and all of the other relationships negatively impacted becuase of your worry and fear that you will find yourself isolated and alone?

Or are you ready to choose faith over fear? To choose to live from the identity Jesus hs givein you in Him? to live from the truth of His word that He takes ccare of the parrows and the lillies, he wil also take care fo yyou.

He may not get you disney tickets or a brand new car…He may not make everything exctly how you want it but He will take care of you.

Do you trsut Him to? Ddo you trsut Him with your salvation?

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