4. Overwhelming Worry
Notes
Transcript
Good morning and welcome to the conclusion of our sermon series, One Thing. We have spent the last few weeks looking at a few core verses from the apostle Paul’s letters he wrote while he was in prison. I’m really glad you are here for this one, I know that you are going to find this to be very helpful.
So, you’re trying to sleep, and it’s well after bedtime. But you’re tossing and turning and unable to get comfy. You notice you’re replaying the same scenario in your head. Some vision of tomorrow, of what might happen, how a hope could be dashed. If you’ve had this experience, you’re far from alone.
Researcher Lucas LaFreniere, Ph.D. said, “This is what breaks my heart about worry. It makes you miserable in the present moment to try and prevent misery in the future. For chronic worriers, this process leads them to be continually distressed all their lives in order to avoid later events that never happen. Worry sucks the joy out of the ‘here and now.’”
In his study on worry, participants were asked to record their worries and how they caused distress and interfered with their lives. Each night at 10 pm, they reported how much time they spent thinking on each specific worry throughout the day. Then, 20 days after that period, they reviewed each entry and reported whether any of the worries had become true.
The good news is, LaFreniere’s study found that in his survey of worrisome people, 91.4 percent of their worries never actually happened.
Worrying caused only more misery and did nothing to help the worriers handle whatever they had been worrying about. This is mainly because the hotly anticipated events never transpired. Did you catch that? The events we were worrying about almost never even happen! So all of that worrying over what someone thinks. All of the worrying about your future or your kid’s future. All the worrying over failure. All the worrying because your bougie friends are getting bigger and better houses and you feel like you’re being left behind. We worry about things that don’t even matter!
In the Core52 book, the author, Mark Moore mentions “neuroscientific research that has given us the fascinating insight that protein branches hold our thoughts. In a real sense, thoughts create real estate in our brains. The more we dwell on a thought, the larger the constellation of proteins becomes. Worry takes up space in our head.
It gets even more real. A study by the American Medical Association found that stress is a factor in 75 percent of all illnesses and diseases that people suffer form today. Another study notes that the association between stress and disease is a colossal 85 percent. Worry, stress, anxiety is a problem. Then we hear the words of Jesus: “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-34).
Okay, I don’t think anyone necessarily disagrees with what Jesus is saying…so what can we do? In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, he gives a great core verse that will help us figure out a plan for overcoming the sabotaging effects of worry.
I do want to add a caveat in here. Sometimes, things like worry, anxiety or even panic attacks can be the cause of something going on physically or emotionally in your life. I don’t want to over simplify the struggles we all have, even Christians with worry. Seeing a counselor, therapist, doctor…these are also helpful resources to utilize when panic attacks or anxiety or worry are overwhelming your life.
If you have a Bible or device, go to Philippians four. If you have the YouVersion Bible app, find Events, and then look for Iowa City Church. A couple of items of context you need to remember when reading this letter. First, the apostle Paul is in prison. His life is not easy, nor is it going in a direction he probably wanted. However, he is taking advantage of his situation and writing letters about how to live out the Jesus following life to churches…and I’m so glad he did! Second, the city of Philippi was a Roman colony, settled with many people loyal to Rome as well as a number of retired Roman soldiers. The message of the gospel is that Jesus is the new king, and he offers a place in his kingdom. This messaging wasn’t well recieved in Philippi, and the Jesus followers there recieved opposition and some persecution. The context then for Paul’s letter is that it wasn’t an easy life being a Christian. There was stress and worry to be dealt with on a daily basis. This context of anxiety, stress and worry will help you understand what Paul writes as he concludes this letter.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Let’s stop here for a minute. Have you ever had a really bad and stressful day, to the point where your face shows your displeasure or stress? Then you run into a person who tells you to, “Cheer up!” Or, “Smile you look sad!” Or even worse, “Hey mister, turn that frown upside down and you will feel a lot better!” Do you know what I’m talking about? What happens when you meet people like that? You want to punch them in the face! Right? Okay, Paul is NOT trying to be one of those people! He’s telling a group of Christians, dealing with worry to Rejoice—in the Lord alway. In other words, their joy isn’t some contrived emotion they have to muster up. Their joy has a source, Jesus. This has been Paul’s centering point throughout the entire letter, whether it’s our attitude, our love, or our joy, it has a source: Our relationship with Jesus. It’s one of the reasons why, on a regular basis I will say that at Iowa City Church, we believe that the very best way to live life comes through following Jesus.
I want to do a quick experiment with you on this. So, hypothetically we have a Christian on one hand, and an atheist on the other hand. They both get a diagnosis of cancer. Do both individuals handle the news the same? I’m sure both have to deal with the news, the grief, and the stress. However, a Christian is locked into a clear path to pull joy from. Jesus will be with them. There could be healing. There could be moments of ministry. There is a clear hope of a future no matter what the outcome. There is also, a clear purpose through the cancer battle. I point this out because joy isn’t an abstract feeling you just muster up…we rejoice in Jesus!
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Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
In our stress and worry we tend to not be very easy to be around. When we worry we tend to be short or even angry with people. How many of you guys have been worrying or stressing over a situation and you come home and your wife asks how you are doing and you snap at her. Worry has defined how you interact with people in a negative way. Paul flips this around, in our anxiety, be gentle…why? The Lord is near. Psalm 34:18 says that God is close to the broken hearted. Jesus tells his followers that he will be with them to the very end of the age. 1 Peter 5:7 says to cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. The point is that in our moments of worry and distress, Jesus is probably closer then we realize. Paul then begins to unpack ways to respond to worry or anxiety.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The word anxious could also be translated worry. Remember, this doesn’t mean that as a Christian we won’t face worry. We are going to experience anxiety and worry. What he is providing Jesus followers is a plan of action. What can we do to subvert worry.
Paul points first to the spiritual discipline of prayer. Whether it’s planned or spontaneous, prayer is a way to guard our mind and our heart against worry. Here’s why. Paul says that prayer focuses us on being thankful for what God has done. When we pray, Jesus taught us to give thanks for our daily bread. Here’s why this is so important. When we are thankful for everything that God has done, we are reminded that God has and is constantly providing for our needs. Thankfulness reminds us of God’s provision.
As we read through the OT book of Exodus, we are constantly baffled at how God’s people Israel, grumbles, complains and worries over every little thing. We are baffled because we see how God is constantly providing for them. However, Israel is a good reminder to each of us how we worry and complain, because we have forgotten how much God has provided for us…often times in our deepest moments of distress. So when we take time to pray, we are guarding our minds by removing those proteins of worry and replacing them with proteins of thankfulness because God cares about us.
The Daily Discipline of Prayer Helps Us Control Our Worry
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Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
The apostle Paul is teaching us a truth that science is confirming: What we allow into our minds, rewires our brain to either positively or negatively impact our lives.
Changing what we think about and what we allow into our minds is imperative when it comes to becoming like Jesus. Paul in his other letters keeps this same theme of changing how we think.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What science continues to back up is that allowing toxic thoughts or worry to stay in our minds impacts our entire lives. Some of us have allowed the trauma of our past to continue to time travel and impact your present, which perpetuates worry. Here is a quote from Dr. Caroline Leaf in her book, Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health
“So when we make a poor-quality decision—when we choose to engage toxic thoughts (for example, unforgiveness, bitterness, irritation, or feelings of not coping)—we change the DNA and subsequent genetic expression, which then changes the shape of our brain wiring in a negative direction. This immediately puts the brain into protection mode, and the brain translates these poor-quality, toxic thoughts as negative stress. This stress then manifests in our bodies. But the most exciting part of this study was the hope it demonstrated because the positive attitude, the good choice, rewired everything back to the original healthy positive state. These scientists basically proved we can renew our minds.” ~ Dr. Caroline Leaf
Think about what is true, noble, right, pure and praise worthy actually does work and help us defend against the negative impact of worry on our lives. Maybe, the worry and stress you are dealing with comes from what you allow into your mind.
Without question, the studies being published that directly connect smart phones and social media platforms with the rise in depression, worry, and anxiety cannot be ignored. Social media has become as ubiquitous as television in our everyday lives, and this research shows that multitasking social media can be as addictive as drugs, alcohol, and chemical substance abuse. According to Leaf’s book, there was a study which found the more social circles a person is linked to, the more likely the social media will be source of stress.
Maybe how you deal with worry and stress would dramatically change if you disconnected from social media and connected to God’s beautiful creation, and plugged in to more worship music, and filling your mind with the wisdom and truth of Scripture. What we allow to happen in our mind directly impacts the amount of worry in our lives.
Managing What Enters Our Mind Helps Us Mitigate Worry
Philippians 4:9 (NIV)
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
We all need examples of how to live life. Especially in this case, where Paul is reminding them of how he modeled what it looked like to follow Jesus. Paul would have been a great example because he faced stressful moments while being in Philippi. He was arrested, jailed and beaten in Philippi. He had moments to worry…he lived as a reminder of how to manage anxiety as a Christian. Though he doesn’t list specifics here, we know that Paul’s routine centered on weekly worship, we get this from the book of Acts. There were specific spiritual routines and habits that helped center and focus Paul. I would suggest that the same holds true for you as well. To keep your mind focused, to experience peace, and keep your life on mission spiritual routines and ministry are essential. This is why it’s essential to develop habits of community worship, communion, serving and prayer. These routines will serve as a regular way to experience God’s peace in your life.
Regular Spiritual & Ministry Routines Help Us Experience God’s Peace
Here are some obedience challenges to consider:
Honestly Evaluate Your Social Media Usage
What Toxic Thoughts Do You Need to Remove From Your Mind?
How Can You Add Godly Truths Into Your Mind?
Regular Spiritual Routines You Can Commit To
Your daily pursuit of Jesus will guard your heart and mind from worry, and lead to peace.
Did you know that Jesus had a panic attack? I know it sounds weird to say it that way, but in many ways that is what happened. As Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before his arrest, he is in great anguish and distress. One description suggests that he is sweating drops of blood. We forget that Jesus was fully human, and his body, soul is preparing to be abused. He’s overwhelmed. I need to be reminded that Jesus has dealt with anxiety and maybe even a panic attack. But do you notice what he does? He presses into his spiritual routine of praying to his Father. According Luke’s gospel, his Heavenly Father strengthened him and prepared him for the cross.
I can attest to this personally.