Dealing With Worry

One of the most common struggles people have is worry. So many play the “what if” game? What if I don’t have enough money for retirement? What If I never meet the right person to marry? What if my spouse leaves me? What if I am messing up my kids? What if my kids get hooked on drugs? The list goes on and on. So often worry feels like weeds in the garden, you pull one out and another pops up. It feels like worry and anxiety has metastasized in our culture. In contrast, the Scripture gives Christians some keys on how to deal with worry. The following three principles help me, hopefully they will help you.
One, obey God’s commands. I am specifically thinking of the fact that in the sermon on the mount Jesus commands us over and over again not to worry (Matthew 6:25,31, 34). This repeated command challenges the idea that worry is no big deal. Clearly it is. To worry is to commit significant disobedience to God. It is to tell Him that He is not trustworthy. It indicates that we believe He is not sovereign or He is not good. It implies that we know better how to run the world. This command from Christ challenges us to set aside worry and embrace trust.
Two, trust the Fatherhood of God. I realize for those who had terrible fathers this may be a difficult thing to imagine. But hopefully you have encountered and engaged with some good examples at some point in your life. Fathers provide for us. They protect us. They believe in us and bless us. Obviously any human father will have flaws but God the perfect Father does not. I find this image of God profoundly comforting and goes a long way in deflating my worry. As a child I never once thought about the mortgage payment or whether we would have food. My father and mother took care of that. When we become Christians, we join God’s family. We become one of his children. He will take care of us.
Three, trust the promises of God. Once again, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus gives us a beautiful promise. He says “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Therefore, as we strive to live for God He will take care of our necessities. He is our great provider (Jehovah Jirah). One classic example in the Hebrew Scriptures tells how God fed the Israelites manna every day. This was tens of thousands of meals every day except the Sabbath. In the New Testament Jesus miraculously feeds the 5,000 and the 4,000. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to ask for our daily bread. God does not promise us an extravagant 401 K or yachts or mansions in this life but he will provide our needs as we answer our calling in his kingdom.
Once sin entered the world it shattered the shalom (peace) that God intended for us. But Jesus, who conquered death itself (our greatest fear), appeared to his disciples after His resurrection and greeted them three times with “peace be with you” (John 20:19, 2, 26). In a culture wracked by worry Jesus is the prince of peace who offers us wholeness. Isn’t it time to set aside worry and embrace peace?

Pastor Derek Dickinson
Journey Christian Church