Worry – The Life Stealer
Celebration Service
April 14, 2002
Last week we spent some time talking about rest and how important rest is to us. We discovered that not only did Jesus set an example of rest for us, but that even God Himself rested on the seventh day and consecrated it. But the truth is rest can often be difficult to do. Life is busy, are lives are a never-ending stream of activities and responsibilities. It kind of reminds me of the times I would hike up in the mountains surrounding Phoenix as a kid. Upon reaching the top of the mountain I would take in the incredible vista of Phoenix stretching out before me in every direction. Then, after catching my breath, I would begin to jog down the mountainside, the only problem was, my easy pace would soon turn into a full-blown sprint. It took every bit of my concentration to avoid colliding with a Saguaro cactus. I would have to time my jumps over granite boulders and duck at just the right time in order to avoid catching a Palo Verde branch in the face. If I was lucky, I would end up at the bottom of the mountain with blood oozing from the numerous lacerations on my legs given to me by the creosote bushes and smaller cactus on the way down.
One thing that never changed was the process of descending a desert mountain. Try as I might, once my body had been captured by gravity, I simply could not slow down the pace. I remember one time, my best friend and I were in Wickenburg, Arizona for a Bluegrass Festival. At one point Steve and I decided to hike up the mountain which stood behind the grandstands. It wasn’t a particularly formidable mountain, but it was a rocky one. Once Steve and I reached the summit we began the traditional race to the base. I spied what I thought was a strategic route to the bottom and broke away from my challenger. About half way down the mountain, I began to realize that I had not seen far enough down my chosen route which was quickly turning into a boulder-strewn nightmare dotted with Teddy Bear cactus otherwise known as Jumping cactus.
As I came to lying in the creek bed, the last thing I remembered was Steve laughing hysterically at me as I went airborne having tripped over a particularly large rock. I was a mess. My legs were shredded, my ankle was severely sprained and I failed to make cuts for the basketball team because I couldn’t perform well enough on a swollen ankle.
I share this story because it illustrates exactly how worry impacts our lives. Worry has a type of gravity which pulls us from the high places in life. No sooner does God grant us a victory or a blessing then worry begins pulling us down with its relentless gravity. We may resist at first with every bit of strength we have, but try as we might, we are simply cannot put on the brakes. Before long we find ourselves sprinting down the mountain towards the pits of anxiety.
Stress, anxiety, nervousness, fretfulness, worry… call it what you will, in the end its all the same. You can even put a spin on it and call it concern, but the bottom line is worry steals our life away one crisis at a time. There are many monsters that stalk us with the objective of sapping away our joy, our peace and our strength, but perhaps none is more effective than worry. You see, while we may spot and evade many of those other monsters, we actually invite worry right into our living rooms.
And while we sit and entertain worry, he subtly wraps us up in his coils until we can no longer move. As those coils draw ever tighter, we eventually suffocate unable to breathe. Worry is a killer. Despite know this, we still choose to worry don’t we? It’s sometimes funny to think of how we deal with worry.
Mary C. Crowley once said, “Every evening I turn worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway.”
Walter Kelly was overheard saying, “When I don’t have anything to worry about, I begin to worry about that.”
I am reminded of a story. For several years a woman had been having trouble getting to sleep at night because she feared burglars. One night her husband heard a noise in the house, so he went downstairs to investigate. When he got there, lo and behold, he found a burglar. “Good evening,” said the man of the house. “I am pleased to see you. Come upstairs and meet my wife. She’s been waiting 10 years to meet you.”
Sounds crazy right? But how many of us tend to live this way? We constantly worry over certain things. My mom worried for years I might be in a car accident and not have clean underwear on. It’s just nuts!
So what’s the answer? How can we live a life of peace and rest in a world full of discord unrest? Turn with me in your program to the passage in the middle section, Psalm 127 and let’s read this passage together:
Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. [2] It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
In these two verses we that, just as in the ancient world, modern man is consumed with building our lives. We work hard to build our houses and homes. We busy ourselves with obtaining those things which will provide some measure of protection for our families. We get up early to go to work, work hard all day and then go to bed at night only to toss and turn until we finally fall asleep from utter exhaustion. We sometimes even work so hard it hurts us. We are driven to do this because we worry that if do not, then we and our families will be left destitute, but this simply is not true.
When we live in Christ’s presence, when we abide in Christ, our lives are His utmost concern. “For God gives to His beloved even in their sleep.” Why is it we are so driven? How do our lives become so distracted and blurry? Well, for one thing, we operate under a false presupposition. Mankind always has. Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 6:19-24:
"Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. [20] Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. [21] Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.
[22] "Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. [23] But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!
[24] "No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Somehow, often unknown to us, we become drawn into a false philosophy of life. We are lured into believing that life is about accumulating things. Over the years I come to believe that it is up to me to provide for me. The end result is that my true treasure is here on earth. Once this takes place, my life then loses it’s stability and focus. With God replaced by stuff or ambition or self at the center of my life, I lose equilibrium. Then the worry sets in.
This is precisely what happened to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. The Pharisees had lost sight of what really mattered in life. Their religious system became one of abuse. Instead of shepherding the people of God, the religious leaders began stealing from the flock. Their eyes had become evil and dark. Instead of letting God’s light in the Pharisee’s eyes began to darken their own souls. Money rather than ministry became the objective and these teachers, rabbis began to worry about having enough luxury, wealth and prestige. Jesus found Himself at odds with a system that He abhorred. Into the face of this destructive mentality Jesus proclaimed the following truth…
Matthew 6:25-30
"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? [27] "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? [28] "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, [29] yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. [30] "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Jesus’ purpose was to redirect our attention. He points to nature and how God cares for the birds and the flowers of field. He opens our eyes to the truth that worry can not even add a single hour to our lifespan. In fact worry steals what little life we have here on earth. Worry is a life stealer, not a life giver. We are even chastised in verse 30, if God clothes flowers that live for only one day, then how much more will He do for us – WE OF LITTLE FAITH! It’s true, we have too little faith in God’s provision.
But how do we resist the temptation to worry? How do we say “NO!” to worry when it comes knocking on our door? Let’s read on, verse 31…
[31] "Do not worry then, saying, ’What will we eat?’ or ’What will we drink?’ or ’What will we wear for clothing?’ [32] "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. [33] "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
[34] "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
In your program there is a brief outline. Here are the key words:
Stop Worrying Instead Start Seeking God. Sounds too simple right? That’s God’s directive – Refuse to worry even about the most fundamental needs in life. We must eat, we must drink and we must clothe ourselves, but God says, STOP WORRYING about even your most basic needs because God will provide; and start seeking His kingdom and His righteousness.
Second, roll your worries onto God’s shoulders. Let God carry the worry and focus on Jesus Christ. Listen to 1 Peter 5:6-7: Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, [7] casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Why are we commanded to humble ourselves? It’s because in our arrogance we fail to acknowledge our desperate need for God’s sustaining power in our lives. You see worry is, in essence, telling God that He is not qualified to care for us. That’s a real slap in God’s face wouldn’t you say? We not only need to say no to worry, we MUST say no to worry for God’s Glory.
This is why we are commanded to humble ourselves. When we bow our knees to God and confess our inability to carry ourselves, it’s then that God lifts us up, it’s then that He exalts us. And as we are humbling ourselves we are commanded to roll our anxieties onto his shoulders. In the Greek this is the word picture painted, one person rolling his heavy burden onto the shoulders of someone stronger. Believe it or not, God wants to care for you. God desires to carry that heavy burden for you so let Him.
This week focus. Intentionally choose to give your worries to God. Let the Lord carry your burdens for you. You have my word… you’ll feel a whole lot lighter by next Sunday! You will all be in our prayers as Sheri, Aidan and I take the next 18 days to practice what I just preached. God bless each one here today!
Let’s pray…
