Jesus Takes Away Worry Series

Third in our series of "Jesus takes away" - shame, fear, worry, rejection and apathy. Most of them are pretty interconnected. Some of you worry that your shame will be exposed. Some of you are worried that your fear of rejection will mean you will never get a partner. Some are so apathetic that you can't face dealing with your worry about your fear of rejection!

Worry is feeling uneasy or troubled - can get unreasonable even irrational pretty quickly.

Researchers at the University of Idaho say that worry is the act of continually repeating the same thought pattern over and over. When we are worrying, we are in the midst of repetitive thinking, but it never resolves the situation - we only think it might. Key features of worry are that it is repetitive and non-productive. A common form of worry is when someone is filled with negative questions and dwell on endless "what if's." Worry is like a rocking chair - it's always in motion but never goes anywhere.

Anxiety is when worry becomes embedded in your life and turns into a disorder.

Here's some helpful quotes on worry

As Corrie ten Boom put it: ‘Worry does not empty tomorrow of sorrow; but it empties today of strength.’

Henry Ward Beecher said, "Worry is rust on the blade which renders us incapable of cutting through life's real problems."

Bill Johnson: Why does worry shout so loudly for our attention? Because if we look at it long enough, it will gain our trust. Pretty soon we begin praying out of fear and eventually we quit praying and start looking for sympathy. We have trusted that other voice and it won the affections of our heart. We must get our minds set on spiritual things because as long as we fill our minds with what's happening in the natural, we restrict our effectiveness. We may rise up now and then and score a victory with the gift of faith, but we won't have the continual influence of Kingdom transformation flowing through us.

A.S. Roche Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained

E Stanley who was a missionary in India: I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath--these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely--these are my native air.

Causes

There are lots of causes of worry and anxiety in our lives

Constant noise (ipods, tv, radio, internet, email Greek word for demon!), Traffic – no one else can drive,

Fractured family life, Finances, Daily Mail, Success (when you are failing, you get a pat on the back and a cup of tea)

Underneath it here are three big causes...

1 Not trusting God

Worry is the opposite of faith, and it steals our peace, physically wears us out, and can even make us sick. When we worry, we torment ourselves—we're doing the devil's job for him! Worry is caused by not trusting God to take care of the various situations in our lives. Too often we trust our own abilities, believing that we can figure out how to take care of our own problems. Yet sometimes, after all our worry and effort to go it alone, we come up short, unable to bring about suitable solutions.

2 Holding onto sin and shame

All of these things we are talking about in this series that Jesus takes away are somewhat interconnected.

If we are caught up in a habit of sin we can worry about being found out and the shame that would bring.

It's probably an apocryphal story, but Arthur Conan Doyle said that it had always been his opinion that there was a skeleton in the closet of every man who had reached the age of forty. This led to a lot of discussion, some of the guests resenting the idea that there was no one who had not in his past something that were better concealed. As a result of the controversy, Dr. Doyle said, it was suggested that his views as to family skeletons be put to the test. The diners selected a man of their acquaintance whom all knew only as an upright Christian gentleman, whose word was accepted as quickly as his bond and who stood with the highest in every respect. 'We wrote a telegram saying 'All is discovered; flee at once" to this pillar of society,' said Dr. Doyle, 'and sent it. He disappeared the next day and has never been heard from since.