SERMON: WORRYING ABOUT WORRY

30 October 2016

I. Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Peter 5:6-8

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

            -- when you are called to preach or teach the word of God, you initially think it is solely because God wants you to proclaim His word to the world -- but the longer you are involved in ministry, you realize this is not always the case -- sometimes God just wants you to proclaim His word to yourself -- this morning is one of those days

            -- our message today is called, “Worrying about Worry” -- and it’s an apt title to describe the type of week I’ve had -- this has been a week of worry and anxiety for me, and it has affected me all week

            -- it reminds me of the story about the patient in the mental hospital -- an attendant was walking by and he noticed one of his patients had his ear pressed up against the wall, listening intently to what was going on in the next room

            -- the patient saw the attendant watching and motioned for him to come over and join him -- the attendant pressed his ear to the wall for a long time and finally said, "I can't hear a thing" -- the patient replied, "You're right -- it's been like that all day!"

            -- that’s me -- worrying over things I don’t hear and things that haven’t even happened -- the Apostle Paul once wrote that he was the chief of sinners -- I think I have claim to be the chief of worriers -- I worry about a lot

            -- I’ve had people tell me I’m a pessimist -- that I’m always thinking the worst is going to happen -- I prefer to call myself a realist, but that’s just an excuse to deny my true nature

            -- I am a firm believer in Murphy’s Law that if something can go wrong, it will -- I actually have made a corollary to Murphy’s Law I call “Lee’s Rule” -- things always go wrong for Greg -- that’s why my favorite Winnie the Pooh character is Eeyore and why I identify so much with doubting Thomas in the Bible

            -- I worry a lot -- I worry about my job -- about my finances -- about my health -- about the state of our vehicles -- and every week I worry about what I am going to preach on the next Sunday -- but it doesn't stop there

            -- I worry about our country -- our Government -- this election -- our economy -- I worry about natural disasters -- I worry about tornadoes and flooding -- I worry about Zika virus -- killer bees -- sharks -- bears -- I’m even worried about that disease you get from ticks that makes you allergic to meat from mammals

            -- and, for too long, I’ve just excused away my sin of worrying by saying, “That’s just who I am” -- but that’s just an excuse and a sin is still a sin, no matter how small or innocuous or accepted by society it may be

            -- so this morning, I want us to talk about worrying, knowing this is a message mostly for me -- but maybe you will receive something from this that will help you in your walk with Christ, too

II.  Worry

            -- so what is worry? -- everyone in here knows that word -- everyone in here will admit to having worried about something in their life -- but what is worry? -- what’s the difference between being worried and being legitimately concerned about something?

            -- worry is a state of anxiety about an actual or potential problem -- it’s dwelling on the what-if’s -- it’s letting your mind and your attention and your focus settle on a problem or on a perceived problem to the point where it affects your thoughts and your actions and your life

            -- you can think of worry as meditating on a negative that hasn’t even happened -- it is problem-oriented and an unhealthy way of thinking

            -- concern on the other hand is a considered analysis of a situation -- concern is recognizing a problem for what it is and moving past the problem to a solution -- a concerned person evaluates a perceived problem and the steps necessary to mitigate that problem or the perceived threat

            -- concern doesn’t dwell on the negative, but focuses on the positive or on moving past the problem

            -- here’s an example of the difference between worry and concern for something that’s been in the news lately -- Zika virus

            -- Zika virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and can have serious health effects, to include potential impacts to fetuses or new-born babies -- and, so it is a viable concern -- one that we’ve seen highlighted in the news before the Hillary and Donald show took over

            -- some people reacted to the news of Zika virus showing up in south Florida by worrying over it -- they wouldn’t go outside for fear of being bitten by mosquitoes -- they wouldn’t let their kids play outside -- they pulled their kids out of school -- they just watched the news all day and just dwelled on the fact that they were going to catch Zika and probably get sick -- it affected their lives -- it affected their sleep -- it affected their health without even catching the virus -- the classic example of a person who worries

            -- others, though, didn’t worry but were concerned -- they researched the facts about Zika -- they bought mosquito repellent to wear before they or their kids went outside -- they looked around their homes and removed any areas that might harbor mosquitoes or areas where mosquitoes could breed -- they checked their screens on their doors and windows -- they were concerned, so they took steps to get past the problem and get on with their lives

            -- that’s the difference between worrying and being concerned -- when you worry, you focus and dwell on the problem and on the potential negative effects of the problem -- when you are concerned, you move past the problem to finding solutions

            -- worry is unhealthy -- concern is not -- worry is a sin -- concern is not -- I’m concerned that I worry too much, which is why you are getting this message today -- make sense?

            -- so why is worry considered a sin? -- why does the Bible condemn worry in Christians? -- why did Jesus teach us to not worry?

            -- worry is a sin because it is a lack of faith in God -- worry is a sin because it demonstrates that you don’t trust God is able to take care of your problem -- worry is a sin because you make an idol out of your problem

            -- I did a word search in the Bible -- do you know what the opposite of “worry” is? -- it’s peace -- and peace only comes from God -- worry blocks the grace of God that brings peace into your life -- it takes your focus and attention off of Him and puts it on you and your problems

            -- it’s like Francis Chan says, “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives.”

            -- so what do we do about it?

III.  Scripture Lesson (1 Peter 5:6-8)

            -- look back at verse 6

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

            -- according to this passage, in order to overcome worry, the first thing we have to do is to humble ourselves -- now when we read that we’re supposed to humble ourselves, our first thought is that we’ve got to make ourselves low -- to put our pride away -- to make ourselves less than others

            -- but that’s not quite what this passage means in the context of worry and anxiety -- when Peter tells us here to humble ourselves, what he’s saying is we need to take our eyes off ourselves and our problems and exalt God back to where He needs to be in our lives

            -- when we’re worrying about a problem -- real or perceived -- we have exalted that problem and made it the focus of our life -- we’ve put it on the throne and it’s the only thing we’re paying attention to -- Peter’s saying that we’ve let the problem and the anxiety about the problem take an unhealthy place in our lives

            -- so the first thing we need to do is re-establish the proper order of things -- to humble ourselves -- to put God back on the throne and to put ourselves and our problems back under Him -- to turn to Him -- to rely on Him -- rather than just dwell and focus on the negative

            -- verse 7

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

            -- next, we have to cast all our anxiety and our worry on God -- we have to turn our problem over to Him

            -- the root cause of worry is fear -- it’s a lack of faith and trust in God to take care of us and our problems -- so the act of casting all our anxiety and worry on God is an act of faith and trust -- it’s admitting that we can’t do anything about this problem and turning to the only One who can -- it’s letting the worry go from our minds and putting this burden on God so He can do a mighty work in our lives

            -- Psalm 56:3 says something similar: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in You”

            -- Phil 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

            -- the answer to worry is to give it to God -- to carry your concern and your need to Him -- to stop trying to solve this on your own -- to stop meditating and chewing on this problem in your mind and working yourself into a frenzy but to give it to Him and trust that He will solve it

            -- I told you that I worry a lot -- but when I look back on my life, most of the stuff that I worried about -- most of the problems that kept me up at night -- never came to pass -- I let the fear of the unknown affect my health and my thoughts and my actions, and nothing happened

            -- how much better would I have been if I had simply given these over to God and prayed to Him to take them -- how much better would it have been if I had simply trusted Him and had faith in His willingness to solve all my problems rather than worrying about how I was going to take care of them?

            -- I like what Zig Ziglar says about praying and worrying -- he wrote: "If you pray you don't need to worry, and if you don't pray it does no good to worry.”

            -- that about sums it up

            -- verse 8

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

            -- here we see where all this worry comes from in the first place -- here we see where all this doubt and anxiety come from -- it comes from the enemy

            -- that doesn’t mean that every problem that arises in our lives is a direct attack from Satan -- no, we live in a fallen world where the consequences of sin and evil are felt daily -- problems happen because we live in a world full of problems -- bad things happen to both good people and bad people -- not because Satan sends them -- but simply because we live in an imperfect world with imperfect people

            -- so Satan doesn’t necessarily send these problems into our lives, but he certainly takes advantage of them -- he uses them to turn our minds off Jesus and onto the problem -- he turns our focus away from having a healthy spiritual response to a problem and causes us to meditate on the what-if’s -- to worry about the negative -- to get so wrapped up in the issue that we forget God

            -- but I think Peter makes a good point here -- the enemy may go around like a roaring lion, but he’s not a lion -- he may make our little problems cast big shadows, but it’s only an illusion -- he’s not in control -- he’s just trying to make you think he is and to make you think that God can’t handle what’s going on in your life

            -- that’s why Peter tells us here to be alert and to be of sound mind -- know that problems are going to happen -- know that things are going to go wrong -- be concerned about real problems -- but don’t dwell on the negative -- focus on the solution, which always resides in faith and trust in God

            -- the enemy can roar all he wants -- he can try to get us to focus our minds and our attention on all the potential negative consequences of problems -- but he can’t do more than that -- by being alert and having a sound mind -- by casting all our anxiety on God and by humbling ourselves and trusting in Him -- we can overcome worry -- we can turn away from this sin and experience true victorious lives in Christ

            -- so before we close, let me give you a couple of practical exercises you can do to actually humble yourself and cast your anxiety on God so you can put your worries behind you

            -- the first is to look beyond your circumstances -- remember your future is certain -- most of our worries are about physical and temporal things -- our future is spiritual and eternal

            -- second, cultivate mindfulness and contentment -- focus on what you have, not what might happen or what you don’t have -- live in the moment -- thank God for the blessings He has given -- admit up front, “Yes, if this problem happens, this negative action might occur -- but, look at how God is going to take care of it”

            -- third, worry appointments -- I ran across this idea online but it’s something I’ve seen in other places -- make yourself an appointment to worry -- take 10 minutes every day to just fully give yourself into your worries -- look at yourself in the mirror and verbally recite all the things that could happen -- all the things that you worry might occur

            -- I saw this in the movie, “Butter” -- this little girl was going to compete in a butter carving competition and she was worried about it -- she was scared to go into the building by herself and compete with adults in this competition

            -- so her foster father tells her to imagine what the worst thing is that could happen? -- let’s watch this clip [show clip from Butter]

            -- so that’s what a worry appointment looks like -- you go ahead and put voice to what the worst thing is -- and at the end of 10 minutes, let it go -- you are not allowed to worry any more until the next worry appointment

            -- it seems ridiculous, but it helps in two ways -- it can keep you from worrying about something all the time, all day -- when you start to worry, you just stop and remind yourself that you have a set time to do that and put it out of your mind until then -- and, it can help you focus your problem and see that it probably isn’t as bad as you think or that the consequences are a lot more manageable than racist ninjas or pythons in the workplaces

IV.  Closing

            -- so let’s bring all this to a close -- the act of worrying is at epidemic levels in our country -- according to the Mayo Clinic, worry is the number one mental disorder in America, and it is actually resulting in physical health issues

            -- “80-85% of their total caseload is due directly to worry and anxiety -- and many experts say that coping with stress is the #1 health priority of our day -- one leading physician has stated that, in his opinion, 70% of all medical patients could cure themselves if only they got rid of their worries and fears"  [Craig Simpson. “Don’t Worry About Anything.” SermonCentral.com]

            -- without a doubt, worry can negatively affect your life -- that’s why God tells us to stop worrying and to trust Him -- to turn our focus off our problems and put our focus on who He is and what He can do in our lives

           

            -- let me close by sharing with you a story about an Eastern monarch who lived many years ago -- he had great wealth and treasure -- he had many fine things in his palace -- and many wives in his harem -- he lived his life plagued by worry, concerned that he might lose what he possessed

            -- so one day, this monarch called all his wise men together -- he asked them to invent a mantra -- a few magic words that would help him in time of trial or distress -- something that would take away his worry and replace his fear with strength

            -- and he gave them these guidelines -- the phrase had to be brief enough to be engraved on a ring so that he could have it always before his eyes -- it must be appropriate to every situation, as useful in prosperity as in adversity -- it must be wise and true and endlessly enduring -- it had to be words by which a man could be guided all his life, in every circumstance, no matter what happened.

            -- The wise men left the monarch and put their heads together -- they thought and thought and finally came to the monarch with their magic words -- this phrase, they declared to the monarch, were words for every change or chance of fortune -- they fit every situation, good or bad -- they would ease the heart and mind and take away all fear and worry

            -- and then, with a flourish, they presented their monarch with a ring engraved with these words, "This, too, shall pass."

            -- good words for us this morning as we seek to overcome worry in our own lives

            -- let us pray