Download 2-12-17 "Overcoming Worry- Part One"

2-12-17
Discovering God’s Will For Your Life Series Obstacles to Discovering God’s Will: Overcoming Worry- Part
One
Today, we start a new series called “Discovering God’s Will for Your Life.” For several weeks, we will
look at how God wants us to know His plan and purpose for our lives.
In order to discover God’s will for our lives, we need to overcome obstacles that often prevent us from
knowing God’s will for us. In the beginning lessons in this series, we will look at several of these
obstacles.
To start with, we are going to focus on overcoming worry. Worry is a huge obstacle for a lot of people,
that stands in the way of finding God’s will for their lives. Worry often takes over our thinking and
influences our actions. Worry moves us away from knowing God’s will. So, to find God’s will we will
need to overcome worry.
First, let’s see that it is not God’s will for us to worry.
In Philippians 4:6 we read:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present
your requests to God.
In this verse, we see that it is God’s will for us to pray, not to worry.
Now, let’s list some common things that we worry about:
Number one on the list, has to be,
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money.
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Close behind is job security.
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Next is our family, which includes our kids, our parents, siblings, grandparents and even distant
relatives.
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Let’s add the future to the list.
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Sometimes we worry about the past.
What else do we worry about?
So, let’s admit it. We worry about a lot of things.
Now let’s try to define worry.
One definition is: Stewing without doing.
This is a great definition of worry. There is really nothing we can do about our worries, because almost
all of them are tied to the future. Also, almost everything we worry about, is beyond our ability to
control. And, most of what we worry about will probably never happen.
The word “worry” comes from an old English word, that means “to strangle or choke.”
This defines worry well, because worry often leads to feeling helpless, or overwhelmed, or out of
control, or trapped.
The Greek word for worry is “meteorizo.” (met-eh-o-rid-zo)
This was a word that was used to describe a ship being tossed around by the waves of the sea.
When we are consumed with worry, we often feel totally out of control, like a ship being tossed around
by angry waves.
One of our difficulties with worry, is that we find it difficult to separate worry from genuine concern.
Let’s look at the difference between concern and worry.
To try to rationalize our worry, we often call it concern or caring. We defend worry by saying: “It’s just
natural to be “concerned” about _______” (fill in the blank).
Concern is a feeling that motivates us to action. It focuses on things we can control.
Worry paralyzes us. It focuses on things beyond our ability to control.
I think the best definition of worry is this:
Worry is our attempt to be in control.
The reason we worry, is that we think something is out of control. We worry, hoping that our worry will
give us back the control.
Dr. David Stoop, a very good Christian psychologist, wrote a book called, “You are What You Think.” In
that book, he writes:
“We get so wrapped up in worrying about the future that we end up paralyzed in the present.”
Then he gives two examples of how we do this. He writes:
For example, you’re worried about finding a job. So, in your Self-Talk, you say something like this:
What if I can’t find a job?
What if I use up my savings?
I must find something for a job!
It isn’t fair that I lost my job!
I’ve got to work!
What your worried Self-Talk is doing, is raising your need for a job to an absolute. “I must find a job!”
You will accept no other alternatives! You get so caught up in your worries, that you end up trapped in
the present. You can barely drag yourself out of the house to find a job.
Or perhaps you worry about having enough money. Your worried Self-talk sounds like:
What if I can’t pay all my bills?
What if I get sick and can’t work?
Inflation is awful! It eats up all my money!
I must get a better paying job to build up my savings!
What if I have an emergency?
What if they raise my rent? How will I afford it?
In your mind, you have created an absolute by demanding that you must have your financial affairs
ordered in a certain way. By raising those standards to an absolute, you have insured that you have
something to worry about. But in the process, you have also locked yourself into a way of thinking that
limits your options. By limiting your options, you become immobilized. You can’t do any creative
planning, because you’re too busy worrying.
Let’s look at some very important truths about worry:
When we make an absolute out of what we worry about, we are really identifying the object of our
trust.
If we worry about our job, we are saying that the major object of trust for our future is our job. If we
worry about money, we are placing our faith for the future in money. The problem with placing our trust
in things like a job or money, is that the worry never stops.
We keep worrying by asking things like: How good of a job do I need? How much money in the bank do
I need to be secure?
The truth is you can never have a good enough job. You can never have enough money. There is always
a possibility of a better job. There is always the desire for more money.
These are slippery objects of trust. They will never be solid enough to keep you from worrying.
This leads to another very important truth about worry:
The key to breaking the paralyzing cycle of worry, is to find something solid in which to trust. The only
solid thing we can trust is God.
In Matthew Chapter 6:24-31, Jesus had some very important things to say about worry:
In Matthew 6:24 He said:
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
What Jesus is saying to us, is that you can’t trust God for the future, and at the same time worry about
having enough money, or having the best possible job, or being healthy enough, or whatever you worry
about.
In Matthew 6:25-27 Jesus goes on to say:
“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? 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his
life?”
What Jesus is saying in these verses is, that when we worry, we aren’t adding time to our lives, we are
making life shorter.
Then Jesus goes on to say this in verses 28-31:
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet
I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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? So, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
What Jesus is saying here is: Just don’t worry about the future, because God is in control.
I’ve probably told you before, but I need to say it again. Worry is my biggest problem in life. I need this
lesson probably more than any of you do.
Because I worry too much, I have been reading about worry, and looking at what God is saying to me
about my worrying. I have learned that at different times in my life, I have made what I worry about, the
object of my trust. When I worry, I’m making what I worry about my God. When God showed me this
about myself, I got angry with myself, because I don’t want my worry to run my life. I want my God to
run my life.
Some of you may remember that a while ago, we watched Louie Giglio’s video, “How Great Is Our God,”
about the awesomeness of God’s creation. The first time I watched that presentation, I was convicted
deep in my heart regarding my worry. I sensed the Lord saying to me: “Allan, do you see how awesome
I am? Do you see that I hold the universe in my hands? Do you see how unique you are? Do you see
how carefully I’ve created you? Do you see how much I love you?”
My response was: “Lord, how wrong I have been to worry. I’ve wasted so much time and energy. I’ve
taken time off my life, through worry. How can I not trust you? I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I must
trust you with everything. Lead me out of worry, and into fully trusting you.”
So, let me share a few things I’m learning about overcoming worry:
First, I’m learning that: The only thing worthy of trust, in regard to the future, is God.
I love what Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:13:
“If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
What I hear from that verse, is that even if I keep worrying, God will not give up on me. Even if I
temporarily lose my faith in Him, He will not turn me away and let me go, because His nature is to
remain faithful.
Another thing I’m learning is that: When I worry, when I try to control the future, I am trying to be God.
Trying to be God is a dead-end deal. There is only one God, and I am not God, and I never will be. Only
God is worthy of trust.
Another thing I’m learning is: Only trust in God, destroys our patterns and habits of worry.
A good Biblical example of this is seen in the life of Abraham.
Abraham at one time was a worrier.
In Genesis Chapter 12, and in Chapter 20, we see evidence of Abraham’s worrying. In those two
chapters, he worried so much about saving his life, that he tried to pass off his wife Sarah as his sister,
hoping he would find favor with two kings.
But in Genesis Chapter 22, we see a different Abraham.
Somehow, Abraham learned that God could be trusted.
Genesis Chapter 22, is the story of God telling Abraham to go and kill his son as a sacrifice. I’m sure
Abraham did not know why God was testing him in this way, but despite his fears and worries, we see
from verse 5 and verse 8, that Abraham trusted his God.
In verse 5, we see that when Abraham and Isaac, and those traveling with them, arrived at the place for
the sacrifice, Abraham said to his servants:
“Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come
back to you.”
Does this sound like a worried man?
Then a few moments later, Isaac asks Abraham where the lamb is for the sacrifice, and Abraham says:
“God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son.”
Those are not words of worry. Those are words of faith and trust.
Abraham put his focus on God, not on his worries. If Abraham can overcome worry, we can also.
Let’s look at some practical things we can do to overcome worry:
First, we must decide to change our attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors.
It isn’t deciding to stop worrying. That is focusing on the wrong thing. It is deciding to change our
attitude toward God, and toward our thoughts, regarding what is happening in our lives.
For me, it is asking God to show me when I am worrying, and then to make a conscious decision to let go
of what I’m worrying about, and then deciding to believe He can handle whatever it is.
Next, we must change the way we talk.
Worry starts in the thought life. If we can catch it in the thought life, it is easier to let the worry go. But,
if we talk too much about our worry, it can start leading us to believe, that what we are worried about
actually will happen.
So, instead of verbalizing our worry, we must verbalize our faith and trust.
Here is a prayer, I often pray out loud:
“Lord, I admit I’m worried about ___________________(fill in the blank). But, instead of worrying about
it, I choose to believe that you are in control. What I’m worried about can only control me if I let it. I’m
not going to let it control me. I believe you will show me what to do.”
Here is a specific way to verbalize our faith using scripture:
“Lord, I’m worried about having the money to pay this bill. But, instead of worrying, I’m choosing to
believe that you, as my God, will supply all my needs according to your glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4:19)
The last practical help is:
Live, as if your faith and trust, is the only way to live.
We all have a choice. We can live “as if” God is trustworthy, or we can give in to the “what-ifs.”
The “what-ifs” put you in the world of worry. The “as-ifs” place you in the world of trust.
Here’s the choice: Live as if you can handle and control the future on your own, or live as if God is the
only one you can trust.
I’ve tried the first choice over and over, and it just leads to more anxiety and worry. When I choose the
second choice, to trust in God, then the promise of Philippians 4:7 comes into my mind and heart. That
verse tells me that:
“the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”
I know from experience, that overcoming worry isn’t easy, because the worries don’t give up easily. But
now I know, that worry doesn’t have to control my life. What I worry about is no longer my god. God is
my God. He is trustworthy!