"What Is a Worry?"
Philippians 4: 4-9
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
June 10 , 2018
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. - Philippians 4: 4-9
One of the great privileges of the pulpit is for God’s Word to speak into the questions that our children, youth, and adults in the pews are asking. One question came in response to last week’s sermon about “Not Yet Knowing” in times of uncertainty: “What is a whrie (worry)?”
The Apostle Paul talks about worry in his letter to the Philippians. When he uses that word “worry” it means “to be pulled into different directions, or to be distracted by a concern.”
You know that feeling when the alarm goes off and you don’t want to go to school because you are worried about that test? Your tummy hurts, and you just want to hide under the covers.
Or when the teacher calls on you to give the answer and your heart races because you are worried that your answer won’t be the right one.
Or when we show up for the first day of a new job and our hands get all sweaty and clammy because we are worried that we might not fit in.
And parenthood worries are a whole other category. A friend recently shared, “Telling a parent not to worry about their child is like telling water not to be wet!”
It is human nature to worry. Our concerns run the gamut. And guess what? Our spiritual ancestors in the Bible had worries too.
The sisters Mary and Martha welcomed their dear friend Jesus into their home. Martha worried about making everything perfect for Jesus (Luke 10: 38-42).
If you dig into the Bible, you find that worrying is not just something that girls or women do.
God called Moses to lead his people out of Egypt. And Moses worried that the people would not listen to him. He worried that he had no qualifications to be a public speaker and leader (Exodus 4:1, 10).
God called Gideon to be a governor of Israel. And Gideon worried that he was not enough (Judges 6:15).
Naaman was the commander of the army for King Aram of Syria. He had quite a reputation for his strength as a mighty warrior. But he also had leprosy, a skin disease that made many feel weak and unaccepted. When presented with an opportunity for the prophet Elisha to heal him, Naaman worried. His emotions came out as anger because Elisha told him to wash and be cleansed in the Jordan River. Naaman was afraid to reveal his need for healing in a public place (2 Kings 5: 1-19).
The Psalmist had somehow missed the mark. He had made a wrong decision and did not know how to make it right. He kept his worries bottled up to the point that the worry bullies held him hostage (Psalm 32: 3-4).
And yet Scripture says that each of these worries did not have the final say.
The Apostle Paul knows we are prone to worry. So he says, “Do not worry about anything, but in everything… let your concerns be known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Paul is not discounting our deepest concerns. It is so very important to really listen to one another’s worries with mutual affection and love.
Paul is talking about the level of worry that blocks the path towards living the abundant life that Christ promises. This kind of worrying is not productive because it disturbs our trust in God’s power. It will not add a single hour to our lives to help us fix our problems. (Matthew 6:27). When worry steals our days then it is time to get a new perspective.
Faith empowers us to reframe our circumstances. There are five keys to reframing worry.
1. Focus on the present. Jesus looked at Martha and said, “You are distracted by many things. There is only need of one thing.” Jesus lifted up Mary’s example of simply being present. God’s grace for the moment at hand is always worthy to take notice of. Breathe it in, and breathe it out. Being present with God guards our hearts from living in the past and getting too far ahead into the future.
2. Pray. One of my good friends often told her children and those she ministered to, “Have you prayed about it as much as you have worried about it?”
Prayer is being aware that the Lord is near. We are to share all of our concerns with God because the Lord cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). God hears. God knows. And God desires to live in relationship with us.
We share our shortcomings and God says, “I will be your mouth and I will teach you” (Exodus 4:12). We name our weaknesses and God says, “But I will be with you” (Judges 6:16). The Spirit moves us to be vulnerable to reveal we need help and God always honors the risk (2 Kings 5: 13-14). We confess our failures and God meets us where we are, forgives, and counsels us (Psalm 32:5, 8).
We pray about all this with thanksgiving. A thankful heart simply means our trust in God’s grace is growing day by day as we strive to live in the present.
3. Question. Is my concern a realistic outcome or is this a worst-case scenario? When the worry bully holds us hostage we go from one “what if” to another. It is a thought pattern that can be hard to break. It causes us to be ineffective.
For this very reason, we must make every effort to support our faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with a heart for God (godliness). For if these things are yours and mine and if these things are increasing among us they keep us from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1: 5-8).
4. Dig. What is the root cause of my worry? For many of us, the root cause is thinking that we are not enough… I am not good enough, likeable enough, smart enough, strong enough, healthy enough, or financially stable enough.
Another common root cause of worry is that we have not accepted the circumstances for what they are. Sometimes it takes the help of a friend, a school counselor, a pastor, a support group, or a therapist. We need a safe space to talk, to be understood and to understand.
God can turn our worry into a wake-up call to trusting God a little more. Whatever our deep concern, God will not leave us stranded in this situation. As we grow to accept the reality of our circumstances, the Spirit will move us to make changes in the rhythm of life to address our situation constructively.
5. Change the script. Nicole Schwartz is a parent coach with a license in family therapy. She says that “children [and adults] who struggle with worry or anxiety often have a negative “worry script” playing in their head. We can overcome our fears by creating a new positive script.”
Instead of allowing our worry to dictate a negative outcome, faith gives us a new positive script. The framework of faith redirects our worry into hope.
The Apostle Paul says we do this by focusing on the things in life that are true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8).
Focus on what is true. I did not do well on that test, but I am tired of that worry bully telling me that I am going to fail the class. That bad grade does not mean I will fail the class. I am smart, and a tutor will help me learn what I do not understand.
Focus on whatever is honorable. I am humbled by all my friends who know my situation and have been praying so much about this mess. This has been so hard. But I am in awe of the people God is bringing into my life at just the right time to encourage me and give me hope.
Focus on those things worthy of praise. This diagnosis scares me. I don’t want to be sick. But I am grateful that my doctor caught this and is creating a medical plan to help me get better.
The Psalmist reframes his trust in God saying, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands” (Psalm 138: 8).
When that worry begins to take on a life of its own, then call upon God. Allow this gift of faith to bring about a new perspective. Keep on practicing what God’s Word teaches and the God of peace will be with you and me one day at a time.
The hope is that as we frame our worry, it will be well with our soul.
May it be so for us today and every day.
In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment