Don't Worry, Give Thanks (11/29/12)

This article will be published today in the Warren Sentinel.  It will be my last for a while ... maybe forever. A lot of this article came from my earlier post(s) on the topic and also worked its way into my sermon on 11/25/12.

Warren Sentinel Weekly Pulpit

Don't Worry, Give ThanksReverend Christof A. Weber

Rockland Community Church

November 29, 2012

I have so much to be thankful for that it is a wonder that I'm not always as thankful as I should be. Despite the countless ways in which I've been blessed, I still find myself worrying about far too much. I worry about the future … I worry about the present … and I even worry about the past. Pastor John MacArthur, is quoted as having said, “Worry is the sin of distrusting the promise and providence of God, and yet it is a sin that Christians commit perhaps more frequently than any other.” I confess that I too commit that sin. I too have a hard time trusting God.

I have been reminded this week that I need to trust God more ... with all the things that worry me. The Greek word translated "worry" in Matthew 6:25-34 and "anxious" in Philippians 4:4-9 is actually a combination of two words, "divided" and "mind." And the Old English word from which we get the word "worry" meant "strangle" or "choke." I know what it feels like to have a divided mind ... to have a divided heart. It feels a lot like being choked or strangled, like you can't breathe deeply enough.

I have found that taking a very deep breath can, for at least a moment, provide some relief. But doing so especially helps when I remember that God gives me each and every breath. When I do this it reminds me that God not only has my future, not only my present, but also my past in his hands. There is nothing that I can do and nothing that I have done that can separate me from God's love. But I don't always remember that.

Corrie Ten Boom wrote that, "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." When I worry, my mind and my heart are divided. When I worry I declare that I am unwilling to trust God fully. When I worry I imagine that I am somehow more capable than God. Worrying gets me nowhere and accomplishes nothing. There is much wisdom in the saying that, “Worry is like a rocking chair – it gives you something to do but it does not get you anywhere.”

Instead of worrying ... instead of being anxious ... I need to pray and to focus my mind on God's kingdom ... on righteous things ... I need to believe that God is in control of my present, future, and even my past. I need to pray and bring my petitions before God ... all those worries, all those cares, I need to lay before his throne ... and I need to do so with thanksgiving in my heart, acknowledging God's goodness and love and God's capacity to handle anything and everything that worries me.

When I find myself worrying, I need to pray. I need to entrust all of my worries to God. So much of what I worry about I have no power to change and have absolutely no control over. So much of what I worry about may never even happen. I need to be thankful that God is in control and that I am not. Only then will I experience shalom – wholeness, healing, and peace. Only then will my divided mind and my divided heart, be bound up and made whole. When I worry I need to remember the promise found in Philippians 4 that the God of peace will be with me. So easy to write. So easy to preach. So hard to live!

One of the things I am thankful for is the time I have had to serve as the pastor of the wonderful people of Rockland Community Church. I have learned so much over the last five years and have had wonderful opportunities to serve God and others. I pray that even as I have been blessed that I have been a blessing to others. As I turn to the next chapter in my life, with all the uncertainties this entails, I pray that I will worry less and trust God more. May you, dear reader, be blessed with the shalom that comes from entrusting your present, future, and even your past to God.