Core 52 - Overwhelming Worry
Notes
Transcript
Fresh out of business school, the young man answered a want ad for an accountant.
Now he was being interviewed by a very nervous man who ran a small business that he had started himself.
"I need someone with an accounting degree," the man said. "But mainly, I'm looking for someone to do my worrying for me."
"Excuse me?" the accountant said.
"I worry about a lot of things," the man said. "But I don't want to have to worry about money. Your job will be to take all the money worries off my back."
"I see," the accountant said. "And how much does the job pay?"
"I'll start you at eighty thousand."
"Eighty thousand dollars!" the accountant exclaimed. "How can such a small business afford a sum like that?"
"That," the owner said, "is your first worry."
Few behaviors sabotage our effectiveness more than worry.
Worry is internal. No one can make you worry.
Worry is triggered by circumstances but not caused by them.
Often the result of comparison, not need.
Worry is most often not about our most immediate circumstances but the “far out” possibilities. Our imaginations run wild.
Basically the result of poor mental habits. Ultimately unnecessary, unproductive and unrealistic.
25 Worry weighs a person down;
an encouraging word cheers a person up.
Worry is bad theology.
Worry is bad theology.
It’s not just psychological, it’s theological.
5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
Adam and Eve decided not to be stewards in dominion over creation at the will of God but to attempt to be owners of creation which is job they weren’t made to do. They were/are incapable of controlling time, destiny and morality.
They couldn’t do it and neither can we. But we try. And the pressure to keep track of, and control everything in our lives is exhausting and overwhelming.
Worry is toxic to our souls because it blinds us to what God has already done and blocks us from what He could do. It’s because our focus is on ourselves rather than God.
In Jesus’ parable of the soils, one of the “heart/soil” conditions was the “thorny” soil. He compares weedy soil to a life choked with worry.
Progress and productivity are hampered by our fears, cares and anxiety.
22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.
The “herbicide” to this condition is faith. Both covenants of the Bible offer the solution: trust God.
it’s not blind trust but the ability to trust God’s track record.
Jesus puts it this way:
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
This echoes the Psalmist:
22 Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
And Peter’s words to the church:
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Minimize Worry in Your Life
Minimize Worry in Your Life
Start with “look and listen.” Foundational to removing worry from life.
First, look at the world. Just slow down long enough to see how God sustains creation.
26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
28 “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, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 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?
Next, listen to God’s Word.
38 As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. 40 But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” 41 But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! 42 There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Conquer Your Thoughts.
But it’s not just emptying out the “junk.”
Our minds, like space, hate a vacuum. We must replace worry and anxiety with the truth.
Read the Bible,
pray regularly.
What we tend and focus on in our minds is what we will become in deed.
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.