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CONNIE: Worries got you down? All of us sometimes find ourselves tossing and turning at night—trying to drill a hole through the mattress. But God has a solution. Join us as we consider “How to Escape the Worry Trap.”

Giving God’s trumpet a Certain Sound for 75 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I’m Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I’m Lonnie Melashenko.

LONNIE: You know, what you’ve said is true, Connie. I think all of us have had those times when we just can’t help worrying about the future—wondering what’s going to happen next—when the other shoe is going to drop!

CONNIE: It seems to be part of human nature.

LONNIE: Maybe even part of what sets us apart from animals?

CONNIE: I don’t know, do you suppose a dog or a cat or a chimpanzee sometimes worries?

LONNIE: I’m not sure I have an answer to that question, Connie. But I do know that Jesus said that the birds of the air don’t worry—it’s in the Bible passage we’ll be looking at today. And when you ask that question it seems kind of ironic.

CONNIE: How’s that?

LONNIE: Well, if we as human beings are the only creatures of God who have the privilege of knowing God on a personal basis, why should we be the only ones in His whole creation that worry?

CONNIE; It is a little odd. I guess what you’re suggesting is that if we really knew God, and really trusted Him; we wouldn’t fall into the worry trap and start drilling holes in our mattresses?

LONNIE: We’re going to be looking at a Bible passage that suggests that, as well as looking at the lives of some people who have learned that lesson through experience.

I have to say that one of my favorite people in the whole world has got to be Del Delker. This lady has been involved with music ministry for 57 years with Voice of Prophecy. Isn’t that amazing?

CONNIE: It sure is.

LONNIE: She’s been heard on our broadcast as a soloist, and has traveled the world singing for the Lord ever since she first joined us back in 1947, and she joined me here in the studio recently to share her own personal story of coming to trust the Lord more deeply.

CONNIE: Let’s listen to that interview with Del Delker.

LONNIE: Live and in person, I have right in front of me Del Delker.
DEL: Thank you.

LONNIE: Del, 57 years of ministry. But it wasn’t always your plan to do Christian ministry was it?

DEL: Indeed it wasn’t. I didn’t want to sing in a Christian band. I wanted to sing in a dance band, and I was looking for the opportunity.

LONNIE: But somehow a US Marine came into your life and led you where of all places?

DEL: To the Quiet Hour. His mom had come out and seen it, and because her son was in bad shape emotionally, she told him about this wonderful place that would help him.

LONNIE: That wasn’t too interesting to you at that moment. You didn’t really look for that.

DEL: No, I remember that…well I didn’t know them when that happened. She insisted that he go and finally he went to the Quiet Hour, and he was awfully impressed with it. So when I started dating him, he urged me to go there, and he thought that is was a wonderful place. He knew that I did not know Christ, and he was anxious to get me there.

LONNIE: So, you went to place that…you really did not want to go too, right?

DEL: Goodness no! Now if he had said the noisy hour, I would have been more than happy to go. But not the Quiet Hour, that was not on my agenda.

LONNIE: Your life was nightclubs, bands, dancing, and whatever else, but you found Jesus, didn’t you?

DEL: I did. And I wasn’t really looking for him, but they impressed me with Him, and the beauty of the gospel.

LONNIE: That set up a chain of sequences and experiences in your life, Del that has become a trademark of how you have learned to trust Jesus, every time you visit Him, He takes you out of that worry. You had worries and so forth, and you had a particular worry back then, tell us a little about that.

DEL: Yes, I had my agenda, and I wanted to go to collage but I got the call from the Voice of Prophecy, and I did not want to go. I wanted to go and get my education.

LONNIE: Well, you were still young, and you wanted to do what other kids did.

DEL: I was just not long out of high school and I wanted to go to college, AND I got a call from the VOP, and I said no!

LONNIE: Then what?

DEL: I got another call, and I got another call, and by that time I was pacing the floor crying, and I didn’t know what was agitating me so, in my mind. And you know what my mother said? She said, you remind me of Jonah running away from Nineveh. If it bothers you that much you better go. So I went, and here I am.

LONNIE: So, wouldn’t you say the best way to get around that worry trap, is to look to Jesus and His will for your life?

DEL: I have found Lonnie, that if you put your life totally in His care, and do what He asks you to do…and looking back on my life now that I am a senior citizen, I have just found that I have fallen to call.

LONNIE: Amen! You had mentioned others times when you have been caught in that worry trap. For instance, one time you mentioned to me a time when you had been receiving a lot of Kudos, and allocates and praises, but there were also some others who wrote you with not so nice things.

DEL: The most awful thing that can happen to any high profile person is rumors, and lies spread about. Anyway a person was sending out poison pen letters saying how awful of a person I was, saying I was mean and immoral and so forth. And that was so devastating. One time when I was driving back from La Sierra from a recording session I prayed that the Lord would just let me die. I didn’t want to live anymore, because I just knew that my career was ruined.

LONNIE: That’s how bad the worry trap was for you. What happened?

DEL: Well, I went back to my room at the Voice of Prophecy, and I was feeling really low, and I heard a knock on the door, and there was a man that I had worked with many times in youth work. He was a leader in youth rallies all over the country and all over the world. Anyway he came over to me and said that he been having this inner voice that said to come and see me, so he said are you ok Del, So of course, the tears began to flow and I showed him the letter, and he said is this true, I said no this is not true, he said well if it were true I think the Lord would have sent me to tell you that I can forgive you, now since it’s not true, I Think that the Lord has sent me to tell you to leave your reputation pin the lords hands. You know, I was on cloud nine, to think that the Lord loves us that much; to think to send that godly man up there, it just blows my mind.
Thank you Del for sharing what it means to catch a glimpse of the savior and to show us how he can make a difference in our lives.

CONNIE: Del has certainly been a trooper for the Lord through the years!

LONNIE: She sure has—through thick and thin, and there’s a book about her life—she and our producer Ken Wade wrote it together a couple of years ago.

CONNIE: And we’ll tell you how you can get a copy of that book a bit later—so stay tuned. But right now, why not listen to a classic Del Delker recording of a song that goes right along with the theme of our program. Here’s Del singing “God Will Take Care of You” from a 1958 recording.

“God Will Take Care of You”, Del Delker.

LONNIE: That great old hymn has helped a lot of people through the years—not the least of which was a man named James Cash Penney.

CONNIE: That would be J. C. Penney of department store fame?

LONNIE: That’s right, Connie. You know, when the stock market crashed in 1929 it almost took Penney down into the gutter with it. He became so distraught, so worried over his business, that it was making him physically ill. In fact his doctors were afraid he was going to die. But that’s when he checked himself into the Battle Creek Sanitarium up in Michigan.

CONNIE: Were the doctors there able to help him?

LONNIE: Not a lot, but then one day he walked past the little chapel where the employees were having worship, and he heard them singing that very hymn. “Suddenly something happened,” he recalled years later. “I can't explain it. I can only call it a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into a warm, brilliant sunlight. I felt as if I had been transported from hell to Paradise. I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before." And he went on to say that “From that day to this, my life has been free from worry. The most dramatic and glorious 20 minutes of my life were those I spent in that chapel that morning.”

CONNIE: Wow! What a testimony.

LONNIE: I’ll say. Music has a powerful effect on people, and the book we’ve chosen as our special offer to our listeners today is the brand new book about one of our favorite musicians, Del Delker. The book is called simply Del Delker.

CONNIE: With a name as well-known as hers, you really don’t need to say much more on the cover of a book.

LONNIE: That’s right. Now, we’re asking you to make a donation to this ministry if you’d like to receive a copy of this brand new book, and we’ll give the details later, but right now, why not mention our toll-free number where listeners can call for more information.

CONNIE: That number is 1-800-872-0055.

LONNIE: We’ll share that again in a moment, along with a mailing address.

CONNIE: But right now, it’s time for your message for today, Lonnie: How to Escape the Worry Trap.

How to Escape the Worry Trap

George was discouraged—and worried. And not without cause.

George lived more than two centuries ago, but I suppose you could call him the Steven Spielberg of his day—a man known for his triumphs in the theater. For thirty years the word on the streets was—if George produced it, you need to get tickets!

But now the times were changing. People’s taste in entertainment was changing. George’s last three productions had basically flopped—closing “on Broadway” after only a few performances.

To make matters worse, one of his chief sponsors had recently died, leaving him without much financial support.

At age 56, things were looking pretty bleak for George. It appeared that his moment in the sun had passed, and that he would fade from the scene just like any other yesterday’s hero.

The year was 1741, and the man I’ve been telling you about was a German composer who had immigrated to England thirty years earlier. He had experienced great success producing Italian operas in London. But by 1741 it looked like it was all over for him. In February his latest opera shut its doors after only three performances. He couldn’t help but think that maybe it was time for him to retire.

But then in July George’s friend Charles Jennens sent him a letter, and included a collection of Bible texts. Why not set these texts about Jesus to music? Jennens asked. Not for an Italian opera, but for an oratorio in English.

As George Frideric Handel sat pondering those Bible texts—all focusing on the life of Jesus—inspiration began to take hold of him. On August 22, 1741, he shut himself up inside his apartment and began to write—putting Scripture to music. Six days later he had completed the draft of Part 1, nine days after that, Part 2 was finished. And then on the 12th of September—just 22 days after he had begun to work on it—Handel completed The Messiah—his greatest, best-known, and most-performed work ever.

And let me tell you, friend, The Messiah didn’t close after three performances. It continues to be performed hundreds of times every year, all around the world, more that 260 years after it opened in London. Personally I love to listen to Handel.

George Frideric Handle’s career, life work, and reputation, were saved by a look at the Savior.

Now, friend, you and I are probably not composers with the talent of Handel. And most of us can’t sing like Del Delker, who shared her story of God’s leading in her life with us today. But is it possible that there’s a lesson in these stories for us, anyhow?

We’re looking today at Matthew 6:25-34. The verses begin with these words of Jesus: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry!” (NIV).

All right, what’s Jesus saying here—should we just go around all day humming Bobby McFarrin’s famous tune, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? No matter what’s happening in your life, whether the company you’re working for has just announced major downsizing, or the landlord is coming to evict you today, or even if you or your spouse has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer—just don’t worry about it. Se la vie! Just put on a happy face, and all your troubles will go away?

No, I don’t think that’s what Jesus had in mind when He spoke those words as part of the Sermon on the Mount. Let’s read the rest of Matthew 6:25: “‘Therefore 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?’ ” (NIV).

Do you know what I hear Jesus saying here? He’s saying, you know, there are a lot of things you could worry about in this world. But the most important thing is life itself. And if you have that, then what’s the point of worrying about the other things? He goes on from there to talk about the birds of the air and the flowers and grass of the field—how their lives are provided for by God.

I think He purposely chose short-lived parts of the creation for examples here. In verse 30, for example, He refers to grass: “ ‘If 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?’ ” (Matthew 6:30, NIV).

Life on this earth is short—whether you’re a flower, a sparrow, a blade of grass—or a person. The years we spend on this earth are extremely brief in the span of eternity!

And Jesus’ counsel about worry in Matthew 6 takes the long view. He says, “ ‘Do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.’ ” (Matthew 6:31-32, NIV).

He says, Whatever it is you think you need to worry about—don’t worry—you have a heavenly Father who is concerned about those things. And then He brings it all into perspective with these words: “ ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well’ ” (Matthew 6:33, NIV).

Now, what exactly does that promise mean? Does it mean that if you’re a Christian you’ll never go hungry or homeless? I don’t think so. I don’t think we can take the attitude that if a person is suffering want in this world, it means their faith isn’t strong enough.

In his epistle to the church, James the brother of Jesus wrote “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16, NIV).

He makes it clear that our attitude toward someone who is suffering want should not be judgment, but a willingness to step in and do something to help.

When Jesus says “Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things,” He’s reminding those of us with the means to meet those needs that we are all children of the same Father. That we all bear responsibility for helping one another out.

In our library here, we have a little book called College Faith—it’s full of stories of how God provided for the needs of Christian young people during their college years. Tom Neslund tells of the time when he and his wife were down to their last 25 cents, and the cupboards were literally bare. There was half a loaf of bread in the fridge, along with a pint of orange juice, and no hope of any more money coming in soon. Then suddenly boxes of food started showing up on their porch. First four boxes on a Friday night, the next morning another three, and later that day three more. Plenty of food to hold them over until their next GI Bill check arrived.

Tom and his wife never did figure out where the food came from—but someone had made it their responsibility to help them out. The Holy Spirit had apparently impressed them that these young Christian students were in need, and they had responded to the Spirit’s prompting.

It doesn’t always work out that way, of course. Sometimes Christians miss their cue and don’t help out when they ought to.

Even in those circumstances, does Jesus intend that we “Don’t worry, be happy?”

Perhaps it’s for those times that He takes both the long view, and the short view, found in Matthew 6:33, 34: “‘But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’ ” (NIV).

The long view says, its life itself that’s most important. And life in the kingdom of God is going to be a lot longer and a lot more pleasant than even the most wonderful life here on earth. So, Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness. Get your priorities straight—don’t be a “pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by” Christian, but remember that whatever life brings you, what’s really important is the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of this world. That’s what I call taking the long view.

But put with it, the short view: “ ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’ ”

Don’t always be worrying about what’s next. The future is out of your hands. It’s in God’s hands. Worrying about it won’t change anything anyhow.

There’s an old Jewish proverb that says “Worms eat you when you're dead; worries eat you when you're alive.” And Bernard Meltzer is credited with this observation: “Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere.”

There’s plenty to worry about in this world, there’s no doubt about that. But if you’re a Christian—if you have faith in God—there’s plenty to trust about as well.

You may not be able to write a great oratorio as Handel did, but when you keep your eyes focused on Jesus, He will do great things through you.

And seeing how He provides—remembering how He has helped in the past and learning to trust Him with the future—is one of the greatest ways I know to escape the worry trap.

Del Delker, “In this old troubled world”