What, Me Worry?

“Do not be anxious about your life . . .” Matthew 6:25; “Do not be anxious about tomorrow . . .” Matthew 6:34: “Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say.” Matthew 10:19; “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6–7

Do you ever worry? That’s a dumb question, of course you do, we all do, it is only natural. Isn’t it? I suppose so; it is natural, it is normal.

But think about those words, “natural,” “normal.” Think about the implications of being bounded by the natural and the normal. When you follow Jesus across the pages of the New Testament, do you see him bounded by the natural and the normal? No. And that was not simply because he was fully God, and that wasn’t a reality for a different time. As followers of Jesus, we are not bound solely by the natural and the normal, but invited into a reality where the supernatural is real.

When we are invited by Jesus into a loving relationship with him, we are indwelt by the Holy Sprit, God himself, living in us and transforming us from the normal, from the natural into the peculiar; a peculiar people Kingdom people, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. . .” (Colossians 1:13)

So here is where it gets unnatural, abnormal: We are commanded as followers of Jesus not to worry – about anything, ever. Would you agree with me that never worrying is unnatural, abnormal, frankly, impossible? God, however, never commands anything that is impossible. He tells his disciple (and us) “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26). And, he commands us not to worry.

Why are we spending these several weeks talking about money? Because study after study shows that Christians and non-Christians alike worry, and that when we worry, we worry most often about money. It’s that simple. In the process of our worry, we elect to be bound by the normal and the natural and rarely if ever experience the supernatural. So many Christians would love to see a miracle and yet spend an enormous amount of energy avoiding the circumstances where miracles happen. Jesus says repeatedly that money (and the connected issues of control and security) is one, if not the, primary things that that gets in the way of our experiencing the Kingdom reality.

- Do you find this true about yourself?
- What do you worry about?
- Do you believe it is possible to live a life without worry?
- What first step could you take toward eliminating worry in your life?

As always, share your stories and your processing of these important questions, with others and with me.

Peace, hope and love

Doug