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WHEN YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT WORRY

Erma Bombeck once said,

I’m good at worry. I worry about introducing people and going blank when I get to my mother. I worry about a snake coming up through the kitchen drain. I worry about the world ending at midnight and getting stuck with three hours on a twenty-four hour cold capsule. I worry about getting into the Guiness World Book of Records under Pregnancy: Oldest Recorded Birth. I worry what the dog thinks when he sees me coming out of the shower. I worry about scientists discovering someday that lettuce has been fattening all along.

Well, I must say dear Irma thought up a few things to worry about that never would have crossed my mind. But all of us worry about some of the things she mentioned—or we find something else to wrinkle our brow over.
Are you a worrier? If so, you may be interested in learning that scientists have discovered a gene for worry (gene number slc6a4 on chromosome number 17q12, if you must know). People that have a short version of this gene are more likely to worry than people who have a long version of it. Now if you’re worried that you have the short version . . . you probably do.
But take heart, Jesus offers some real practical help for this problem. Listen to His sermon on worry. I’m reading from Matthew 6:25-34.

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? Look 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? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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? So 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. But seek first his 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.

Let’s unpack that passage, shall we? Jesus builds a logical pyramid of reasoning that supports his thesis. Scholars refer to this as a chiastic structure, but the rest of us don’t need to worry about just exactly what that means. All we need to know is that Jesus makes two points before stating his main thesis. Then He states the thesis. Next, He supports the thesis by mirroring the two points that He made earlier.

Let me be more specific. In verse 25 Jesus says not to worry about what you eat, drink or wear. Let’s call that point A. Point B (verse 26) is an illustration from nature where Jesus points to the birds of the air and observes how they “do not sow or reap or store away in barns.” That’s because the Heavenly Father cares for them. Jesus is building to His main argument in verse 27 where He asks the rhetorical question, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” The bottom line is simple: worry is useless. No one will live longer for having worried, so of what value is it? To further support this contention, Jesus then completes the line of reasoning by echoing points A and B. Notice how verse 28 (which we’ll call point B prime) is another illustration from nature. Jesus points out how the lilies do not labor or spin, yet they still grow. Then in verse 31 (point A prime) he once again gives the command not to worry about what to eat or drink or wear.

We can summarize this passage with four words: “Don’t worry. Be happy.” That’s all Jesus was saying. He said it, however, in a very logical way.

But Jesus was not only logical in this teaching; He was practical as well. He did not just say, “Don’t worry.” Everybody knows of the futility of worry. Who could argue that worry is productive? We all agree with the premise. The real question is this: How do we stop worrying? Jesus answers by sharing three suggestions on how to win the worry war.

The first step in winning over worry is to trust God. In verse 32 Jesus comments on how “the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” The reasoning here makes sense. For pagans to worry about what to eat, drink, or wear is one thing. After all, they do not know that our loving God will provide these needs. But for Christians to worry over such necessities is ludicrous. After all, Christ-followers know of a heavenly Father whom they can trust to supply all human needs.

Comedian Richard Pryor learned this back in 1980 following an accident in which he was critically burned. Later, while appearing on the Tonight Show, he insisted that when you’re close to death, money doesn’t matter. He said, “All that I could think of was to call on God. I didn’t call the Bank of America once.”

Hopefully, we can learn this lesson without enduring an accident like Richard Pryor. Whether you’re cruising smoothly in life or pounding down a rocky road, remember to call on God. Trust Him.

The second way to combat worry is to put first things first. Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (verse 33). The ocean of worry we’re drowning in begins to evaporate when we orient life around that one all-consuming passion--to seek first the kingdom of God.

Some years ago Leadership magazine published the story of a speedboat driver racing along at near top speeds when a bad combination of wind and waves catapulted him high into the air, spinning crazily. He was thrown from his boat and thrust deeply into the water—so deep, in fact, that he did not know which way was up. Frantically, he kicked and thrashed and panicked . . . until it dawned on him that he was wearing a life vest. When he stopped fighting, the buoyancy of the life vest reoriented him so he could swim toward the surface.

Next time you’re so deeply immersed in your worries that you don’t know which way is up, just stop. Remind yourself to trust God and seek first His kingdom. Allow God’s gentle tug to pull you in the proper direction. No need to panic. Just seek first the kingdom of God.

The final step is to live one day at a time. Jesus concludes: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (verse 34).

In her book Celebrate Joy! Velma Seawell Daniels talks about this familiar phrase. She tells of interviewing a man who had made a trip to Alaska to visit people who live above the Arctic Circle.

“Never ask an Eskimo how old he is,” the man said. “If you do, he will say, ‘I don't know and I don't care.’ And he doesn't. One of them told me that, and I pressed him a bit further. When I asked him the second time, he said, ‘Almost -- that's all.’ I replied, ‘Almost what?’ and he said, ‘Almost one day.’”

Mrs. Daniels asked what the Eskimo meant. The man explained how Eskimos believe that when they go to sleep at night they die. Then, when they wake up in the morning, they have been resurrected and are living a new life. Therefore, no Eskimo is more than one day old. So, that is what the Eskimo meant when he said he was ‘almost' a day old. The day wasn't over yet.”

“Life above the Arctic Circle is harsh and cruel, and mere survival becomes a major accomplishment,” he explained. “But, you never see an Eskimo who seems worried or anxious. They have learned to face one day at a time.”

Friend, have you learned how to beat worry? You can. Trust Jesus. Seek first the kingdom of God. Live one day at a time. Now, don’t misunderstand. I’m not suggesting that we never need to plan for the future, never need to do anything for ourselves. What I’m saying is that when we’ve done all we can by the grace of God, we need to leave the outcome to the grace of God!

Let’s put some skin on these concepts, shall we? This snapshot of what this looks like in the real world comes from Thomas Tewell as posted on the website, PreachingToday.com. It’s the story of Dr. George McCauslin, hailed as one of the greatest YMCA directors of all time. He served at a troubled YMCA near Pittsburgh. The club had perennial problems: declining memberships, financial difficulties, and very challenging staff issues. McCauslin found himself working 85 hours a week, getting little sleep at night, and taking virtually no time off. Whenever he tried to take time off, he just worried all the more about the problems at work.

McCauslin went to a therapist who told him he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He had to learn to release his worries to God. But how?

He took an afternoon off, escaping to the woods in western Pennsylvania. As McCauslin walked through the cool woods, he could feel his tight body start to relax. He sat down under a tree and sighed. For the first time in months he relaxed.

Finding a pen and pad of paper in his coat, he wrote this letter to God: “Dear God, today I hereby resign as general manager of the universe. Love, George.”

McCauslin later told a friend: “And wonder of wonders,” he smirked, “God accepted my resignation.”