How to Deal
Part 1: How to Deal with Worry
Intro: How many of you worry? We all have stress. In fact, at the top of your sermon section this morning, I want you to put down the thing that worries or bugs you the most. Now, it’s nobody else’s business, so you can put your hand over it. Ladies, turn away from your husbands so that they don’t see you write their names at the top of the paper. Maybe it’s your family, maybe it’s your job, maybe it’s your health, but what worries you the most: put it down on the piece of paper.
-I want you to turn to 2 passages of Scripture with me: 1st of all, I want you to go to Luke 10 with me. It’s the story of Jesus coming by the house of a couple of his friends, Mary and Martha. Classic illustration of one person who worries and gets all uptight and full of stress and one who doesn’t. Let’s start with verse 38. Jesus is visiting 2 of his friends in Bethany.
Scripture: Luke 10:38
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.”
-It’s a beautiful scene. Two sisters who welcome the Lord into their home. They’re all excited. Who wouldn’t be? He’s a friend. And when the Lord comes in the house, Mary, the younger sister, just sits at his feet because she wants to hear everything that He could say to her. She wants to drink in all the truth.
-So they’re in the sitting room and she’s just listening as the Lord is telling her about where He’s been and the miracles and all the great things that are happening. And while Mary is sitting at the feet of the Lord, Martha, who is probably the first-born of the family, is in the kitchen preparing a meal for Jesus. She knows what a joy it is to have Him in her home, and she’s in the kitchen moving pots and pans. And every once in a while she glances over her shoulder and she sees Mary doing nothing.
-One of the things that make uptight people more uptight is looking over their shoulder and seeing other people doing absolutely nothing. She could finally handle it no more. Look what happened in verse 40:
Scripture: Luke 10:40
“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
-It says, “Martha was distracted…” Now, if you write in your Bibles, circle that word. It’s a key word. ““Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
-Can you relate to that? How many of you have ever gotten bugged by somebody like Mary? Really grabs you, doesn’t it? And guess what happened to Martha? She finally reached her breaking point. Like so many of us, Martha allowed her anxiety to reach a break her. Notice how she reacted:
1. She assumed that Jesus didn’t care. (vs. 40)
-Can you believe what she asked Jesus in verse 40? “Lord, do you not care?” In other words, she’s saying, “Lord, I’ve been in this kitchen now for 45 minutes, and you’ve been talking to Mary, and neither of you have even looked in the kitchen to see what I’m doing. You don’t even act like you care what I’m doing. Don’t you care?”
-So she assumed that Jesus didn’t care. Of course, we all know that old adage about not assuming things, and we can’t say it in church, but there’s a lot of truth behind it.
2. She blamed Mary for being irresponsible. (vs. 41)
-She said, “my sister has left me to do all of the serving alone.” And you just know that she stretched out that word, “all,” in a real pathetic sounding voice! “She’s going to let me do aaaall the serving by myself.”
-And isn’t it always true? A person full of stress is always blaming someone else. Oh uptight people can thank God for the Marys of life. So we can kind of point the finger out and say, “Look! She letting me do aaall the work by myself!”
3. She tried to work things out her own way. (vs. 41)
-Man, that’s me and you, isn’t it? I mean, it’s almost everyone in our day. Not only do we have stress, but we have plan to put everybody else under stress with us. If I’m going to mess around in the kitchen and worry and scurry and be bothered and get uptight, the least I can do is get the Marys in life worrying and scurrying and uptight, too.
-Look how she said the last part of that verse: “Jesus, tell her to help me!” In other words, “Lord, make her miserable, too!” But how did Jesus answer her?
Scripture: Luke 10:41
“Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things…”
-What’s she worried and upset about? How many of you have ever had to clean your home and prepare a meal for several people before company comes over? Okay, then you know what Martha was worried and upset about. She’s got all these things on her mind and they’re pulling her apart. On top of that, her sister seems to be being lazy about it all.
-So she’s got all these things on her mind that she’s trying to do and balance and take care of, and look at what Jesus tells her in the verse part of verse 42:
Scripture: Luke 10:42a
“…only one thing is needed.”
-Jesus says, Martha, there is one thing that’s important here and you’re missing it because of your worry and busy-ness. Talk about setting someone’s priorities straight, right? Then Jesus says:
Scripture: Luke 10:42b
“Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
-In other words, “Mary’s the one who’s got her priorities right. She’s the one who’s chosen what’s really important. And what’s important is sitting at my feet and listening to me. But Martha, you’ve got this incredibly long list of things to do and things you’re worried about that you’ve completely missed the one thing that’s important. You need to relax.”
-So many of us need to hear that loud and clear. Because in 2009, we are more worked than ever, more busy than ever, more tired than ever, more stressed than ever and with the economy the way it is, more worried about the future than ever…and in the midst of all this stuff that’s making us miserable, the Holy Spirit still whispers to us, “Relax. Relax or you’re going to miss Jesus.”
Illustration: Have you ever gone to the fair or Gatlinburg or someplace and seen where they make homemade taffy? Have you seen how that taffy is pulled and stretched and pulled and stretched and pulled and stretched? You know what’s interesting about that taffy? For all of the pulling and stretching that it goes through, the taffy gets anywhere. It just goes around and around.
-That’s a lot like what worry does to you. When you and I worry, it’s like we’re having our insides pulled apart in different directions and we’re not really get anywhere. As Christians we’re called to respond to stress and worry differently than non-believers. You see, when Christians are consumed with worry, people on the outside are going, “Oh yeah, I’d just love to be like that. Oh yeah, if I could just worry myself into getting ulcers. Man, if I could just get all red in my face and upset about everything.” When we worry, it ruins our witness.
-Here’s something you need to always remember: Responding to life’s situations is a choice. No one can do it for you. And I don’t know about you, but I want to make the choice to focus on the one thing the really matters: being close to Jesus.
-But how are we going to focus in on the one thing and mute the distractions of the world so that we really can be less stressful people? Well, there’s a great answer.
How to Win Over Worry (Proverbs 3:5-6)
-Turn with me to Proverbs 3. Most of you probably know this passage of Scripture because it’s on bumper stickers and coffee mugs and bookmarks and everything else at the Christian book store. It’s become so commonplace that maybe you’ve forgotten what it really means for your life:
Scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
-Today, I want us to do something a little bit different. I want us to break down these 2 verses into the 6 key terms that are found there and I want us to really grasp what this means in our lives, today.
1. “Trust” – Total dependence on and submission to God.
-When I trust in God with all of my heart, it means I take my present and my future and I say, “God, all of it is yours.” It’s like the old song, “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow”:
I don’t know about tomorrow;
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine
For its skies may turn to grey.
I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said.
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.
Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.
-Trust is both dependence and submission, both today and tomorrow and every day after that.
2. “All your heart” – Not withholding any part of your life from His control.
-To trust in the Lord with “all your heart” means that we are commanded to place all of our trust in Him, holding back no area of our life. He wants us to give Him everything. And if we’ll really do that, it will change our lives. I mean, let’s be honest. Sometimes things come along that are just too big and too heavy for us to carry ourselves. But God is big enough. And God is strong enough. Trust in him with all your heart.
3. “Understanding” – Your own limited perspective.
-The Hebrew text says it even better with the placement of the words. The original Hebrew reads, “Upon your own understanding do not lean.” What that mean? It means don’t turn first to your limited viewpoint. We’re not as smart as we think we are. Whenever you run into a stressful situation, don’t first look to yourself. Don’t ask, “How am I going to handle this?” Because you own understanding is limited. But God’s understanding is infinite. So who should you go to first? It’s a no-brainer.
4. “Lean” – Devote all your energy to.
“Lean not.” That word “lean” is important. Back in the Old Testament, in Judges 16, Samson, after his tragic fall, after his hair had grown back and he had his strength again, asked to be taken to the center pillars, that held up the temple. And the Bible says that he literally put everything he could, all of his energy, upon those pillars. It’s the same word that’s used here for “lean.” We’re not supposed to lean on our own strength. We’re not supposed to lean on our own securities, like our family or our job or our home or our own self-sufficiency. God never intended for us to have to be that weight ourselves. Instead, He made us to devote all of our energy to Him.
5. “Acknowledge” – Recognize.
-It just means to recognize. Recognize God as your source. Recognize Him as your strength. Recognize Him as your hope. Recognize Him as your provider. Recognize Him as your defender. It’s really simple. Give credit where credit is due. And all the credit belongs to whom? To Him.
6. “Make straight” – To go before, to prepare the way, remove all barriers.
-I love this last phrase that says, “He will make your paths straight.” It says, “He…will.” There’s a feeling of intensity in those words and I want you to feel see how that intensity this morning. I want you see how intensely God cares for you. “Make straight” means that God goes before you, He prepares a way for you, He removes all barriers that may be in your way. It’s a picture of God as a great Warrior-King before us in battle and cutting the enemy down to size before we ever have to face them.
-God’s walking before us saying, “You are my child. You are my beloved. And because you rely on me, I am going to take you through this victoriously. I will fight for you.” And of course, the greatest display of this is God Himself taking on the form of Jesus Christ and saying, “I…will die for you.” Jesus has made the ultimate path straight before you. The path to God. And when you acknowledge Him as your King, He goes before you to fight all the other battles you’ll face in life, too.
3 Important Things to Remember
1. This promise is for stressed-filled people today.
-I know you’re taking notes, but I want you to stop just for a second. Think about this promise being for you. It’s for you! And you might be like, “Stephen, it sounds nice, but you have absolutely no clue where I am and what I’m going through right now.”
-That’s exactly right. I don’t. I have no clue what you’re going through. I wish I did. That’s why I always go through our connection cards that are turned in each week and look for those of you who may have prayer requests and I pray for you. (That’s one reason why I’d like you to fill one out every week, too.)
-I try to understand as much as I can what you’re going through and I pray the best I know how for you, but ultimately, I don’t know what’s in your heart. But God does. And if you’re walking through life right now with worry and stress playing a major part of your life, it’s because you haven’t trusted in God with all your heart and relied upon Him. But you can choose to change that, today.
2. God will do His part only if we do our part first.
- God can’t trust Himself for you. You see, it’s your responsibility to trust in the Lord. It’s your responsibility not to lean on your own understanding. It’s your responsibility to acknowledge Him in all your ways. You have to do your part. And then God will do His.
3. God can handle all areas of your life.
-You say, “Oh come on, all areas of my life?” That’s right. All areas. Not some areas. Not most of the areas. Not just the difficult areas. All areas of your life. Think one more time about the verses we’ve studied in Proverbs. Do you see the word, “all” twice in this promise? Trust in the Lord with what? “All” your heart. Look at verse 6. In what ways? “All” your ways. God wants you to trust Him with all areas of your life.
Conclusion/Invitation
-So, as we close, today. There’s a big blank left in your notes. I want to challenge you right now before you leave to think about the area in your life that you worry most about, that causes you the most stress and pain and heartache, and I want you to write it down in that blank. And I want you to memorize the sentence that you’re creating, because it’s going to be a prayer for you.
-You remember that big worry you wrote down at the top of your notes page? Put it down here. And whenever you start to worry about that area, I want you just to pray this prayer, “Lord in [whatever your area of worry is] I acknowledge you.”
-Pray it as many times as you need to until you stop worrying about it. And see if God doesn’t begin to bring peace into even that situation.
-There’s a song that we sing every once in a while that I want us to sing in closing, today. It’s called “Learning to Lean.” It says:
I’m learning to lean, learning to lean,
Learning to lean on Jesus.
Finding more power than I’d ever dreamed,
I’m learning to lean on Jesus.
-Let’s stand this morning as the praise team comes to lead us in that song. The altars are open for you to come and release your worry and stress to God. And I just want to you listen to me for one more second. Learn to lean hard on God. You know what the good news is, this morning? The good news is He can handle the problem. He can. And if you really love Him, put all of your trust and all of your weight on Him, and watch what He’ll do. Will you come as we respond to God, today?
