Why Worry? Series

Here’s the Almighty, all-powerful Creator God in the flesh – standing right there with them – and they still worry.

George Muller said, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.”

When we worry we send a message to God that basically says, “I don’t fully trust you!”

I know that you’ve promised all things work together for good, but right now my gut tells me something bad is going to happen, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if it does happen.

In this regard we’re a lot like the disciples of Jesus. God gently prompts us, “You little-faiths. Don’t worry. Trust me.”

John R. Rice said, “Worry is putting question marks where God has put periods.”

Jesus might have us consider… If what I’m worrying about did happen, what’s the absolute worst case scenario? And in the midst of that, would God cease to be with you? No? Then your point is what?

Worry exposes a lack of faith.

And the third reason I shouldn’t worry…

3. Worry reveals a faulty ambition

Here is what Jesus says in Matthew 6:31-32…

So 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.

The pagans - the people who have no faith in God at all chase after, run after and seek these things – because they don’t know about the Father in heaven. They make the pursuit of these things their driving ambition.

If we attach enough significance to earthly things that it causes us to worry over them, we need to straighten out our life’s aim.

We can worry until we’re blue in the face about interest rates, the appreciation of our home, whether or not our belongings will get destroyed by moth or rust, or whether a thief will break in and steal – in the long run, there’s not much of anything we can do about that.

Do our worries sound the same as those of people who don’t know the Father in Heaven? But if we only knew Father, we’d know we’d have nothing to worry about.

The continual message of the Sermon on the Mount is Christian counterculture. Our lifestyle is to be distinctly different from those without faith in Jesus. Different like salt and like light.

Remember 6:8 – Do not be like them. You’re different. And they’re missing the point

TRANSITION: The point is very simply, I shouldn’t worry, because…

III. I HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO (v. 33)

Here’s the stuff on my agenda that will keep me from worry…

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. (v. 33)

Seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness is my job – it’s my ambition – my goal – my life’s aim.

We can see why these words follow Jesus’ teaching on the treasure chest. Worry is a lot like money because it causes us to focus on the wrong things. God wants us to focus on the things that matter.

Illus - After 40 years of marriage, this woman’s husband suddenly died. For several months she sat alone in her house with the shades pulled and the door locked. Finally she decided to do something about her situation. The loneliness was killing her. She remembered that her husband had a friend who owned a pet store.