Don't Worry, Be Happy Series

“No Fear” Series

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

Life is Better Without Worry

10/16/02

I. Fear is…

a. Anxiety caused by real or possible danger, pain, etc.; fright

b. Awe; reverence

c. Apprehension; concern

d. Synonyms: (noun) fright, terror, horror, panic, dread, dismay, awe, scare, revulsion, aversion, tremor, mortal terror, cowardice, dread, timidity, misgiving, trembling, anxiety, phobia, foreboding, despair, agitation, hesitation, worry, concern, suspicion, doubt, qualm, funk, cold feet, cold sweat.

II. Fear = Worry

Have you ever worried about anything? Have you ever been involved in doing something and you didn’t know the answer, so you started worrying that what you were wanting to do, or what you had to do wouldn’t happen? For instance: You have two pages worth of homework due tomorrow, but you forgot to bring your book home from school. So, instead of calling one of your friends to see if you can borrow his/her book, you start worrying about not being able to get your homework done. Then you start worrying about failing the class, which leads to worry about failing the whole grade, and that leads to worry about Summer School or not graduating on time. From one homework assignment, worry has already taken you through the process of failure, and failure doesn’t make anybody happy. Well, you may say, “Worry doesn’t hurt anybody; I worry sometimes and I’m ok. It’s no big deal.” And you may be ok, and it may not be a big deal to you. But, after you see what the Bible says about it, you may change your mind. What is worry? Worry- to strangle, to twist, choke, to pluck at, to push on, to annoy, bother, tease, to harass, to weary, to fatigue, to tear, to cause to feel uneasy or troubled, to make anxious, to distress. Any way you look at it, worry doesn’t sound fun.

III. Why Worry?

I. Jesus Said Not To

The number one reason why you shouldn’t even bother to worry is because Jesus said not to. If Jesus, being God, tells me to do something, I’m gonna do it. It’s a matter of obedience. If He tells me not to do something, I’m not gonna do it. It’s that simple. He knows what’s best for me. He’s looking out for me. He’s on my side. I’m gonna take his advice.

Matthew 6:25-34 “25Therefore 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? 26Look 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? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If 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? 31So do not worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ’What shall we drink?’ or ’What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

II. Worry Is Useless

List everything you’ve ever accomplished by worrying. You’ve never accomplished anything good or worthwhile through worrying. Think about that. Worry won’t get you anything. It won’t buy you a new car. It won’t get you a new house. It won’t get you a pack of Twizzlers. It won’t even do your homework. Worry gets you nothing. Jesus said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” You can’t.

Ecclesiastes 2:22-23 “22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.”

Here this guy is working hard all day long, worrying about the answers to the problems he faces. He works and works and works, and even at night his mind keeps worrying, trying to figure out the answers. The writer says it’s meaningless. It’s useless. If it doesn’t help you or get you anything, why worry?

III. Worry and Happiness Aren’t Friends