Worry? Who Me?

Most of us spend our lives worrying, don’t we?  We worry about how people will accept us.  We worry about our clothes—are they nice enough or with it enough?. We worry about acne.  We worry about our bodies—are we too fat or too skinny or too tall or too short or too ugly or somehow not acceptable.  We worry about our social status.  Will someone find us attractive or will they shun us? We worry about what the guy or girl on the other side of the classroom is thinking about us. We worry about school work—are we smart enough to handle it or will we come out failing?  We worry about projects and papers and quizzes and tests.  We worry about whether we can stay in school and pay the bill.  We worry about our jobs—at least some of us do.  Others haven’t gotten there yet as they joy ride around on the golf cart of life.

As we get older, we worry about our careers, and our income—will we make enough to pay the bills and survive in the lifestyle we’ve grown accustomed to?  We worry about who we will marry, or if we will marry.  We worry about whether we will be able to have kids, and once we have them, that gives us something totally new to worry about.  How will we feed them and clothe them?  How will we educate them?  How can we get them through childhood in one piece when they continue to fall down and break bones or stick screwdrivers into electrical outlets, or jump off of swings when they are at their highest point?  And how can we pay for the rising cost of Dr. bills when they do those things?

We worry that they won’t do good enough in school or that they get into too many fights or that they won’t be accepted or that they might fail and not only make themselves look bad, but make us as parents look bad too.

We worry about the perpetual cough that we can’t seem to stop or the fever of one of the kids or about our aging parents.  We worry about the doctor’s report that says we have a tumor and we worry about cancer or strokes or high cholesterol and heart attacks.    We worry about tornadoes and earthquakes and hurricanes and fires.  We worry about our kids driving the highways at much too high a speed.  We worry about the other people on the roads with our kids.  Some of them we worry about because they might be drunk and could possibly hit one of our loved ones…and some we worry about because they happen to be on the road at the same time as our kid who just learned to drive—and they don’t yet know the lack of experience that our kid has.  And so we worry, not only for our kid, but for the people our kid might hit.

We worry about divorce and our future.  We worry about death and how to face it.  We worry about hell and heaven.  We worry about our family members that don’t know Jesus.  We worry that we don’t know Jesus well enough.  And we hate the question put to  us—If you were to die right now, do you know where you would spend eternity?  That worries us.  In fact, have you noticed?  We worry about just about everything.

And right in the middle of all of our worry, Jesus speaks.

Matt. 6:25 ¶  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matt. 6:28 ¶  “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying,  ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

That’s all well and good Jesus, but what do I do instead of worrying?  I mean, my life is eaten up with it.

And Jesus says, “I’m glad you asked!” Look at verse 33.

33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its’ own.

Do you hear God speaking to you this morning?  Don’t worry.  But Lord, I’m afraid that…and we continue our litany of worry.  And yet, over 200 times in the Scriptures, Jesus admonishes us to not be afraid.  And He adds His promises to help us realize why we don’t need to be afraid.  Ponder this.

John 14:1 ¶  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

John 14:25 ¶  “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Over and over God seeks to calm our fears.  Over and over He wants us to learn to rest our worries in the strength of His love for us.  Time and again, God calls us to stop worrying, start trusting and enjoy life.