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.

Reason to Hope

It’s amazing how one phone call or one conversation or one piece of information can suddenly plunge us into our own world of darkness.  You know what I mean. “There’s been a terrible accident.”  “I hate to tell you this, but your tests came back positive.  You have cancer.  There’s not much we can do.”  “Your mommy and I just can’t live together anymore.”  We hear those words and our world goes dark.  The birds may be singing and sun may be shining, but it’s raining on the inside.  The storm clouds have moved in and the thunder and lightning in your soul drown out just about everything else.  Ever since sin entered into this world, life has become full of those moments. 

We can’t escape them.  We can try to pretend that they aren’t there and that nothing is wrong, but it doesn’t make it so.  We can deny and act as though we are fine, but our soul is in solitary confinement with the light shut out.  Where do we find the hope in a time like that?  Where is our one blade of grass on those days?  How do we go on when we don’t even want to?  What is our reason to hope?

And as long as you have hope, you can’t be defeated.  I’m not talking about unrealistic denial of the facts.  I’m not talking about hoping for what can never be.  I’m talking about a realistic trust in the Lord; a looking to Him for your stability in the midst of your storm.  A confidence that no matter what happens, He will see you through.  When you have that hope within you, no one can take it away, no matter what they do to you.  And you will, yourself, be a source of hope to those around you.

Anthony de Mello in his book The Heart of the Enlightened, page 19 writes:

Once upon a time in a concentration camp there lived a prisoner who, even though he was under sentence of execution, was fearless and free.  One day he was seen in the middle of the prison square playing his guitar.  A large crowd gathered to listen, for under the spell of his music, they became as fearless as he.  When the prison authorities saw this, they forbade the man to play.

But the next day there he was again, singing and playing on his guitar with a larger crowd around him.  The guards angrily dragged him away and had his fingers chopped off. 

Next day he was back again, singing and making what music he could with his bleeding fingers.  This time the crowds were cheering.  The guards dragged him away again and smashed his guitar.

The following day he was singing with all his heart.  What a song!  So pure and uplifting!  The crowd joined in, and while the singing lasted, their hearts became as pure as his and their spirits were invincible.  So angry were the guards this time that they had his tongue torn out.  A hush descended on the camp, a something that was deathless.

To the astonishment of everyone, he was back in his place the next day swaying and dancing to a silent music that no one but he could hear.  And soon everyone was holding hands and dancing around this bleeding, broken figure in the center while the guards stood rooted to the ground in wonder.

Two thousand years ago, thinking to silence hope, the devil looked at the Singer of life and love said, “Destroy this One, and we destroy any hope that humanity ever thought of having!”  And he did his best.  Satan used one of Jesus’ friends to betray Him.  The mob took Him. They spit on Him; pulled out His beard, beat Him until He was almost dead.  Then forced Him to carry his cross up a rugged hill, and there, they crucified Him. 

“That should do it!” Satan beamed.  And for a while, it looked like it would work.  The disciple’s world caved in.  They locked themselves into a room for fear of the Jews.  It was as if a hush descended on the camp, a something that was deathless.

All seemed bleak.  Hopeless.  Dark.  But then someone found the crack in the concrete.  A small hole with a single blade of grass hope.  “Hey, I wonder if it’s really true?” “What’s that?”  “Well, you know, what He said about the third day.”

It seemed hopeless to all, but to the astonishment of everyone, on the third day, Jesus was back in His spot once again singing hope.

Scripture tells us in Romans 8 that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  That’s hope.

Psa. 62:5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.

Lam. 3:25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

Rom. 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Jer. 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I don’t know what dark cell you may be in this morning.  I don’t know what is darkening your sky…But I do know there’s hope.  I have no idea where you are in your walk with Jesus, but let me just say: That’s where your hope lies.  That’s where you will find it.  It may only be a blade of grass hope to start with, but He promises to give you a hope and a future.

You can go on.  You can make it, because He did.  You have an assurance of tomorrow because He’s provided it for you.  He’s still in His place singing His song of hope.  It may seem silent in your soul…but if you look closer, you might just see Him dancing and swaying in place to a music that can’t be conquered.  A music, that in the face of all odds can bring you hope.  A music that He longs to bring to your soul.  Because He did all that for you, He can bring you hope.  Open up your heart and receive it.  Look out from the darkness of your soul and see the color once again, no matter what you are facing.  It may be only a small wisp of fresh air and a view revealing that small blade of green grass, but that still signals there’s hope.  And Jesus is holding it out to you.  Reach out and take it. Take it and let Him put the music back in your soul.  And then turn to your neighbor, turn to your family, turn to any the Lord brings across your path and share that hope with them.  Be in your spot, singing hope to a world that so badly needs it.