Surviving Worry

“Alien Song” video clip.
        Click the following link to see the clip: http://www.hahahumor.com/funny-movies/aliensong.htm
 

Have you ever felt like that?

I mean, you think you’re okay, or maybe like our little alien, you’ve come through a tough time and survived, but then something else smacks you.

The stresses of life can come down on you hard.

That’s why, for the next few weeks I want us to look closely at Psalm 23.

           Because within these 6 verses is God’s “Survival kit” for stress.

           This Psalm tells us how to survive, it points us to God and tells us what he is really like.

As one author put it: “The more you understand God, the easier it is to trust Him.. And trusting Him is what brings real peace, real satisfaction, real life.”

The first cause of stress we’ll look at is Worry.

Now, let me tell you right at the start that there is no easy, sure cure for worry.

But I do think within Psalm 23:1 and Mt. 6 there are some suggestions for changes in attitude.

                      And if we will incorporate them, they can have some positive long range benefits.

I. WHAT IS WORRY:

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? 26 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? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 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? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

A.T. Robertson in his word study says, “this is a command not to have the habit of (perpetual) worry.”

Now, some pressure in life is essential in order for us to be properly stimulated, but there is a big difference between worry or anxiety and concern.

           Certainly we need to be concerned about some things.

Remember one of Jesus’ parables talked about the fact, that no man builds a tower without first counting the cost.

Or no general goes to battle without being concerned about the number of the enemy.

But worry results in inaction.

           Instead of stimulating positive action, anxiety promotes negative inaction.

                      Ringing our hands, wondering, “What if this or that happens?”

           In fact, the bottom line is, that Jesus called worry a sin!

Now the word sin came from an archery term that simply meant, “missing the mark.”

           Jesus is saying here, that when you worry you have missed God’s mark for your life.

           In fact, in Matt. 6, no less than 4x in the NIV, Jesus emphatically says, “Do not worry..”

                      Why does Jesus make such a big deal over this?

           Well, for the same reason He tries to keep us from any sin.

                      Because it’s outside of God’s will for us, it’s not what’s best for us.

And in the case of worry, it means we are, at the time, putting our focus primarily on this world, not on God.

And that creates four problems with worry.

(1) It makes worry unhelpful, because it never accomplishes or solves anything.

           It’s stewing without doing.

It’s like racing your car engine -- you may create a lot of smoke and noise but you don’t go anywhere.

           Worry has never solved a problem.

                      Worry cannot change the past.

                      Worry cannot control the future.

                      Worry only makes us miserable today.

(2) It makes worry unreasonable.

           It exaggerates your problems, makes mountains out of molehills.

                      The more you review something when you’re worried about it, the bigger it gets.

           John Haggi tells the story of a woman who worried for 40 years that she was going to get cancer.

                      Every pain in the stomach was cancer, and she was constantly going to the doctor.

                                 She died at age 73 of pneumonia.

                      She had worried for over 40 years over the wrong disease!

           Worry is a waste of time and energy.

                      To worry about something you can’t change is useless.

(3) It makes worry unhealthy.

           The body was not made to worry.

                      When you worry you get ulcers, backaches, headaches, insomnia.

           The old English word for worry is the word “to strangle” or “to choke”.

                      That’s what worry does -- it strangles the life out of you.

                                 You weren’t born worrying.

                                            You have to learn to worry.

                                            And some of us have become quite good at it.

(4) It makes worry a sign of being unfaithful.

           In Matthew 6:30 Jesus accuses those who worry as being “of little faith.”

                      Why?

           Because worry says, “God, I’m not sure that’s true. I’m not sure I can trust you.”

                      Worry says, “I don’t think I can cope with it, God won’t be adequate.”

Yet, Phil. 4:13- “I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.”(NLT).

           In fact, let me shoot straight with you.

                      Any time you worry, you’re acting like someone who doesn’t believe in God.

           Jesus, in Mt. 6, says when you worry about things,

                      like what kind of food you have (vs:25) or

                      about what clothes you’re going to wear (v.28), or

                      about the future (v.27)

                                 then you’re acting like a pagan! Vs.32 -

“For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

           You see when you worry about these things you are basically saying:

“God is not going to keep His promises; God’s not going to take care of my needs. If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”

II. WHO CAN HELP US? THE SHEPHERD:

So what do we need to do to apply this part of King David’s survival kit here in Psalm 23?

           Well, David would say, depend on the Shepherd.

                      “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.”

           In other words, I believe God will take care of me!

                      If I believe that God is going to take care of me, I’m not going to worry.

One of our problems in depending on the Lord as our shepherd, is that it means I have to say,

           “If the Lord is my Shepherd, than I am one of His sheep..”

                      And that’s not a very favorable image!

How many remember the Art Linkletter show, or the most recent remake where Bill Cosby did it called, Kids Say The Dandiest Things?

Well, for those of you who don’t know or don’t remember, at the end of each show they would ask 4 or 5 children questions.

           One of the oft asked questions was:

                      “If you could be any animal in the world what animal would you choose to be?”

The girls would say they wanted to be a warm, furry kitten.

The boys who always seemed to be more realistic, would say they wanted to be a lion or a tiger, or maybe an elephant, so they could squirt water through their nose.

Yet in all the years that they played this game, I can never remember one of the children saying they wanted to be a sheep.

                      Why?

           Because sheep were everything that growing boys and girls did not want to be.

                      Sheep are: defenseless, dependent, easily disoriented.

                      They have no natural way to defend themselves, except run.

           No wonder children don’t want to be sheep.

And yet that is precisely what David calls himself.

           When he writes, “The Lord is my Shepherd” he is saying about himself, “I am a sheep.”

                      Before God I am dependent,

                                 before God I am defenseless,

                                 before God I am helpless,

                                 without God I’m nervous and scared!

And I do not think you will ever make much spiritual progress in your life, until you recognize that’s true of you.

                      When it comes to our life, we are like sheep.

                                 We need someone else to guide us, to protect us, and direct us.

                      David is saying then, “THE LORD- is the Shepherd of my life.”

           That’s the part of this survival kit that gets us past worry:

                      that if the Lord is your shepherd, you’ll have a relationship with Him

                                 and you shall not want for anything in time or in eternity.

A little girl is said to have recited the verse this way “the Lord is my Shepherd- he’s all I want!”

           And although she was wrong, she was rather right wasn’t she?

Isaiah 40:11 “God takes care of his people like a shepherd. He gathers them like lambs in his arms and carries them close to him.” (NCV)

And King David was a shepherd, so he knew that a shepherd does at least 4 things for his sheep.

           (1) A shepherd provides.

                      He provides food, shelter, the basic necessities for his sheep.

           (2) A shepherd protects.

                      He defends against enemies, harm.

           (3) A shepherd guides.

                      He leads sheep when they’re confused and don’t know which way to go.

           (4) A shepherd corrects.

Any problem that comes along, or any rebellion that occurs on part of the sheep, he corrects it.

The amazing thing is this: God has promised to do these four things in your life, if you’ll trust Him, if you’ll let Him be your shepherd.

He says, “I’ll provide for you. I will protect you. I will guide you. I will correct the problems in your life for you. If you will let Me be your Shepherd.”

God even gets more specific in Phil. 4:19- “This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”(NLT)

           Now, notice, that it doesn’t say, God will meet all of your greed.

If God met all of your wants, you’d be the biggest spoiled brat in the universe and soon like with most spoiled brats, you’d be miserable.

But He has said, “I will meet all of your needs.”

God says “I will...”.

           He doesn’t say, I might or I’ll think about it.

                      He says I will.

           That means, because God is our shepherd, that He has put His integrity on the line.

                      He’s either going to do it, or He’s a liar.

God says “I will supply all ...”

           What does “all” include?

                      Doctor payments?

                      Mortgage payments?

                      Financial needs?

                      Health needs?

                      Relational needs?

                                 Yes. All.

           If God has promised to provide all of your needs,

                      to protect you,

                      to guide you when you’re confused, and

                      to correct you when you start to stray,

                                 then what does that leave left to worry about?

                                            Nothing.

I love Peter’s answer to Jesus in John 6, when the crowd left Him after a particular hard teaching.

Jesus asked, “Do you want to leave too? .. Peter answered him, `Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know that you are the Holy One of God.”(John 6:66-69 NLT)

           Peter learned the lesson.

We’re nothing without the Shepherd, but because we have the Shepherd we shouldn’t worry.

III. DECIDING NOT TO WORRY:

But how do we practically do that?

           It’s one thing to say, “Don’t worry, be happy!”

                      But it’s quite another to actually pull that off!

Well, the first thing you must do, is decide not to worry!

           You must make a personal commitment to say,

                      “I am going to depend on the Lord, and not worry about the things I cannot control.”

           I am going to say like David.. “Since the Lord is my shepherd... I will not want!”

You’ve got to follow Jesus’ advice in Mt. 6:33, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Ask yourself this question, when you are caught up in a complicated or fretful issue.

           Ask: “Is there anything else I can do?”

                      If there is, then you are probably in an area of concern, and you need to act.

If there is not - if you are stewing without doing, and refusing to trust God to handle it, then you are missing the mark.

                                 You’re saying, “God isn’t enough” and you are worrying.

                                            “Is there anything else I can do?”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that positive thinking is all you have to do to defeat worry.

           But a decision is where it starts.

           Ask forgiveness for the times you have worried and not depended on God,

                      and then make sure you incorporate these three things in your decision:

(1) That Jesus is Lord.

           Please understand that God is not the Shepherd of everybody.

                      He’s only the Shepherd of those who let Him be the Shepherd.

And when David says, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” I think he makes the point that the Lord can’t be your Shepherd until the Shepherd is your Lord.

           What does it mean to be Lord?

                      It means to be in control, to be in charge.

                      Jesus Christ is Lord in your life, if He’s calling the shots.

                                 If He’s not calling the shots, He’s not Lord.

                                            And if He’s not Lord, He’s not Shepherd.

                      To accept Jesus as Lord means 3 things.

John 10:14, 27 - Jesus said, 14 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

                      These three words is what it means to have Jesus as Lord:

                                 You know Jesus, you listen to Jesus, you follow Jesus.

                                            You put Him in control.

(2) That Worry is a control issue.

           The root behind all of your worry, is a fear that you are not in control.

                      Worry is always an attempt to control the uncontrollable.

                      Worry is assuming responsibility God never meant for you to have.

                                 Whenever you try to control the uncontrollable you’re going to worry.

                      Worry is a warning light.

                                 Whenever you start to worry the light should go off:

                                            Warning!-- you’re trying to control too much!

           Maybe the most important question this evening is:

                      Who’s in control of your life?

           Listen, if you’re running your own life without God’s direction, you ought to be worried.

But if God is running your life, and He’s your Lord and your Shepherd, you know He can control anything, so you don’t sweat it.

(3) To live one day at a time.

Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

           When you worry, you don’t do anything about yesterday,

                      you don’t control tomorrow, you just mess up today.

           The future can seem overwhelming.

                      Therefore, God has put it in little bite-size pieces - they’re called days - with 24 hours.

Worry, and surviving it, is going to be a daily choice, sometimes hourly.

           Sometimes a moment by moment choice, in which you say,

                      “I am going to believe that the Lord is my Shepherd and He’s in control.”

           Because if I’m in control, I’ve a lot to worry about.

                      But if God’s in control, it’s His problem & He can handle it.

What’s got you worried?

           What causes you to fuss & fume, toss & turn?

           What is it, when you think about it, that gives you an awful feeling in the pit of your stomach?

           I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but that doesn’t matter.

                      God does.

And when you read Ps. 23, you can’t help but feel this is a personal psalm, all about a relationship with God.

You see, that’s what surviving worry is all about.

           Religion won’t help you stop worrying.

                      But a relationship with the Shepherd will.

           You need a Shepherd, one who provides, protects, guides & corrects.

Wilbur Chapman was asked to come cheer up a little 10 year old boy who was dying of cancer.

           He went to the home of the little boy.

The little boy was worried about dying and Chapman said, "I want to teach you something. Let me have your hand. The Bible says, `The Lord is my Shepherd.’ Every time you start to get worried about what’s going to happen to you, you think, `The Lord is my Shepherd’ and you hold onto your index finger and picture God holding on to you."

           Two weeks later the little boy died in his sleep,

                      and the people at the funeral wondered why he was holding his index finger.

“The Lord is my SHEPHERD.”

           Is the Lord YOUR Shepherd?

           Is the Shepherd, your Lord?

           If He is, you can stop worrying and say,

                       “I shall not be in want.”