Don't Worry!

I am a worrier by nature. I’ve always been one. I come from a long line of worriers and I think I will always face the temptation to worry.  I’m not your average worrier either, you know people who worry about what if I can’t find a good job, should I take this one or that, how will I know what God’s will is, will I ever be married.  No…most of those things don’t plague me too often. It doesn't mean, they never do, just not very often.

 No, I worry about:

• Someone feeling left out because we don’t have enough chairs at the table at lunch.

• How to solve world hunger and how do relief agencies cope when they run out of food during a distribution?

• What happens if I don’t lose the weight, or if I don’t get my visa?  If these don’t work out, was I wrong about my calling?

• That children will injure themselves when they’re playing.

• That if I don’t remember to shut off my lava lamp in the morning that I’ll burn down the house and kill my poor little dogs.

• That 50% of my friends marriages will end in divorce.

• That someone is mad at me and I’ve left things unreconciled. (even if I don’t know what I’ve done wrong)

• That I am loud, abrasive and hurtful and don’t even know it (because people are too afraid to tell me).

• That my mom will fall and hurt herself when I’m away for a weekend and she won’t be able to call for help.

 
And the list goes on and on!  The fact is we all have stuff we worry about.

 
In Luke 12: 22-34:

 22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

 27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

 32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We have been commanded to not worry.  Yet we do.  We could choose to be condemned by that.  I mean these commands are tough. Just Don’t Worry About it right?  That’s all.  What good does it do?  You can’t change anything…why worry?  While that is all true, we can feel like we really suck because of this passage….…except the passage is contains much more logic, reasoning and gentleness than that.

 Let’s look at it one more time:

  22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

 27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

 32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We can choose to replace lies with truth until we are confident that God is perfectly trustworthy. We can be confident that He loves us, and He is a good Father that provides all we need.  He cares deeply about Birds, how much more about us?  He knows we need these things (he doesn’t deny we need food and clothing)?

But there’s a big elephant in this passage that no one really wants to deal with or take on.  I don’t want to deal with it or take it on, but I feel compelled to.

If you read all of this in context, he just got done telling a parable about the man who kept building more buildings to hold all of his crops, just to die that very night and have nothing to show for his life’s work.  And then he goes on to tell them not to worry.  It’s all temporary, so don’t worry about he temporary.

Basically He is trying to draw a contrast and get things in perspective here.  WHAT ARE WE LIVING FOR?  Well there was a building project that Jesus seemed to be a bit preoccupied with.  He was all about building the KINGDOM.  Basically Jesus was saying, if you’re living for the Kingdom, food and clothes are a minor concern compared to God’s work being done and people being invited to live under His benevolent Kingship!

If we’re going to lose sleep, it’s only worth if it is because we are praying for more laborer’s, or spending time with people to help them take a step toward Christ, or feeding the poor.  Jesus lost sleep for these things.

Finally, the doozy in this passage is when Jesus says sell all your possessions, and give to the poor.  What?  That is always tough for us to swallow.  I never know what to do with this.  I’m not at a place in my walk with God and faith that I am ready to make this step.  I think that’s ok…There is much of the Bible I’m not living out yet.  God does the changing in my heart and life, if I will just submit to the Spirit as he leads me through transformation.  But If and when God finally says to me, Stacy…do it I’m going to have to make my choice.

But lest we leave and be condemned (and feel hopeless) by this command of Jesus’, let’s keep this in context and rest in His goodness one more time.  Jesus says “sell all your possessions…” because a majority of our worry comes as a result of our possessions.  We worry about losing our possessions, protecting our possessions, gaining more possessions.  If we get rid of them, we are free to and forced to trust Christ for all we need, and we are free to focus on the Building Project.  He tells us this, because  He loves us.

So, there you have it.  I’m not there! I’m vulnerable and honest about it, and I ask God to keep working in me and making me more like him.  But I choose to not live and think like a failure, but to submit myself humbly to his transformative work with great hope and peace that He will answer that prayer and change me in His perfect time.