Jump Start # 1625

Matthew 6:27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

  This week we have been taking a stroll down a hallway of attitudes, feelings and emotions that we don’t like to look at. We study these things in Bible classes. We hear preachers warning us of these things in sermons, but still they seem to linger in the background of our hearts. Hatred…fear…guilt…and now, worry. Fear and guilt often fear worry. The more we fear, the more we tend to worry. We worry about the past. We would like to go back and have some do overs. We understand that we are forgiven, but it remains that we sure wish we didn’t say what we did. We worry about our kids. We worry that too much TV will make them blind. We worry that too much sunlight will give them cancer. We worry about how much sugar they eat. We worry about their safety. The news media makes our worries more intense. Have you noticed that during a newscast, the anchors will toss out a teaser and then break for a commercial? You’ll hear such things as, “The water you drink is killing you. More after our commercial break.” Or, “the air that you breathe is deadly for you. Stay tuned, right after our commercial break.” These things usually happen when I am doing the very thing that we are warned about. So we hold our breath until the commercials are over. Fear feeds worry.

We worry about tomorrow, even though Jesus tells us not to do that. We worry about this country, our jobs, and what might happen tomorrow. We worry about how others view us. We worry about how fat, bald, gray we are becoming. We worry about doctor’s appointments. We worry waiting for the results of tests.

Like the other topics this week, hatred, fear, and guilt, worry can consume, cripple us and destroy us. We can worry ourselves to death.

Our verse today, found in the midst of a section about worry, reveals how unproductive worry is. It doesn’t accomplish anything useful. It doesn’t help us. We are not better because we have worried about things. I find it interesting that some will hide their worry behind the word “concern.” Paul was concerned about the churches. We use the same word, but unlike Paul, we are actually worried. There is a difference. Worry doesn’t do anything good about a problem and what it does is  hurt us. Concern leads to positive actions. Paul was concerned about the churches so he sent preachers, wrote letters and even visited places himself. His concern led to actions, positive actions that helped the situation. Worry would have Paul tossing and turning all night, getting an ulcer and being doubtful. Paul didn’t worry.

Our verse is translated differently in the King James and the New American Standard. The overall outcome is the same, but the illustration is different.

In the King James, the expression is: “add a single cubit” to his life. A cubit is a form of measurement. We might say “inches.” Here is a guy who is short. He’s been short all his life. He’s heard all the short jokes. He’s been teased about what he is going to do when he “grows up.” His size bothers him. The Lord asks, can worry make him grow taller? Can he add a single cubit to his life? Can he take away wrinkles by worrying? Can he lose weight by worrying? Can he make his hair grow by worrying? Worry won’t do any of those things.

In the New American Standard, the expression is: “add a single hour to his life?” Here it sounds like the length of life not the length of the body that is being emphasized. Can you live longer by worrying? Can you live better by worrying? Can you live happier by worrying? The answer is no. Worry won’t do anything that you want. Worry won’t get the kids home when it is past their curfew. Worry won’t keep your job with the company has announced layoffs. Worry won’t make the surgery a success. What can help, is prayer. Praying to God can and will do things. This is why Peter tells us to cast all our anxieties upon Him because He cares for us. Worry, excludes God. Prayer invites God. Worry tries to fix things on your own. Prayer and faith realizes that we need the Lord.

How can a person keep from worrying? I’ve heard people say, “I just can’t stop worrying?” Yes, you can. If God tells us, as He does in Matthew 6, to “not be anxious,” then it is possible. Believe it. That doesn’t mean it won’t be hard, nor will it be without effort on your part. To not worry, is not to say that you won’t be bothered by things. You will. Things happen. Things upset us. People hurt us. Things are not as they should be. But instead of keeping those thoughts within you and allowing those thoughts to control you and dominate you, you give them to the Lord. You pray to the Lord. Your faith and trust in God will get you through. God’s been there for you in the past hasn’t He? Do you remember? Trust Him. Obey Him. Follow Him.

The stronger the faith, the less the worry. Spend time with the disciples in the boat while a storm is raging. They woke Jesus up thinking that they were going to perish. They asked, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” They didn’t ask Jesus to stop the storm. They didn’t ask Jesus if the storm was greater than His powers. They asked, “Do you not care…” Jesus always cares. Jesus stopped the storm. The terrified disciples were now more afraid of the One who could control the weather with just the words of His mouth. Faith. Faith overcomes worry. Faith conquers our fears. Faith is what will get us through.

Our faith grows as we spend time with the Bible. Feed your faith. Look deeply into the word of God. Lower your nets. Peel back the layers. Lesson upon lesson is found in the Gospel stories.

Here are some things we know:

1. God is always upon the throne. Always. It is never empty. It is never occupied by a preacher, prophet or someone else. No matter what happens in politics, God is in charge.

2. God has a plan that no one can stop or overturn. His kingdom cannot be shaken. The gates of Hades cannot prevail over God’s church. God has promised. Jesus said, “Where I am, there you may be. The righteous will be with the Lord. Do not fear what man can do to you. Do not fear the one who can take your life and do no more. God has a plan. It will be exactly as God has said.

3. God has a proven track record of being there for His people. The cries in Egypt were heard by God. The lonely Joseph in a prison cell was recognized by God. Daniel in the lion’s den…Peter in prison…the bent over  woman…the death of Lazarus…Paul’s ship wrecks…God was there.

4. God wants us to believe. We walk by faith and not by sight. We see the invisible. We fix our eyes upon Jesus. Those powerful expressions are not cute things to put in a church bulletin, they are the substance, hope and confidence that allows a child of God to endure hardships. Fear not what you are about to suffer is what the brethren at Smyrna were told. Satan is going to cast some of you in prison. Be faithful until death. Believe. Never stop believing.

5. God is greater than anything we face. Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Worry questions that. Worry sees the giants in our lives. Worry fixes itself upon the problems. Worry is negative, defeating and giving up. Faith overcomes. Faith may not see the answer, but it sees the God who sees all things.

Why worry when you can believe? Why worry when it doesn’t do you any good? Why worry when it takes you away from God. Stop the worry and start trusting God. He is good to you. He treats you better than you deserve.

Hatred…fear…guilt…worry—it’s time to dump the trash in our hearts and fill our lives with the living word of God.

Roger