Win The War With Worry!

By John Stallings


Don’t worry about anything, - pray about everything. Phil.4:6 –New Living Translation


A lady went to her doctor after she’d convinced herself she had an incurable condition.

Her doctor told her she could rest assured that wasn’t true. Then he went on to say, “Anyway, you wouldn’t know you had the condition because it causes no discomfort of any kind.”

“Oh dear,” the woman replied,” Those are my symptoms exactly.”

I think what we have here is a genuine “worry-wart.”

According to a recent study, some of the top sources of worry today are,-- health, the U.S deficit, the hole in the ozone layer, global warming, air quality, road rage, national I.D cards, soil erosion, credit fraud, the weakening dollar, etc.

On the humorous side, people used to worry about finding a new, “hip joint” to hang out in. Now they’re worried about getting a new hip-joint.

People used to desire long hair, now they’re “longing for hair.” People used to worry about passing the driving test, now they’re worried about passing the vision test.

People used to be trying to look like Brando or Liz Taylor. Now they worry about not looking like Brando or Taylor. [I’m aware that both these individuals have now passed on.]

People used to worry about folk not coming to their party. Now they worry about no one coming to their funeral.

One definition for worry is—“Being filled with anxiety, & having done nothing about it."

One of the frightening manifestations of worry & fear some people experience is now called “panic attacks.” Having had a few of them in my younger days I can tell you they are hellish. A panic attack occurs when our nerves, far from “breaking down” are working so good that they get super-sensitized. A panic attack can strike like a snipers bullet in the form of overwhelming anxiety for no apparent reason. One minute you’re fine; the next minute panic has iced your heart, immobilizing you.

Panic attacks can hit preachers in the pulpit, rendering them incapable of saying a word, drivers on the hi-way, a shopper looking into a store window & they can make a man about to take his wife to dinner suddenly afraid to leave the house. Not being a psychologist, I can only say this is another expression of fear, anxiety & worry & maybe a matrix of them all. Panic attacks are really for another blog, another day so maybe I’ll write on the subject eventually, because of the personal experience I’ve had with them & also cases I’ve been familiar with over the years.


THE MOST STRESSFUL DAYS

Maybe you already knew this but a long-term study of 4,000 men found that 38 died of sudden heart attacks on Monday while only 15 died on Friday. For men with no history of heart disease, Monday was particularly dangerous.

Among that group, an average of 8.2 heart attack deaths occurred on each of the other six days of the week while nearly 3 times that many occurred on Monday. Maybe the idea of ministers taking Mondays off is a good idea!


LEGITIMATE CONCERN IS NEVER CONDEMNED

Let’s be clear here and make an important distinction; there is such a thing as legitimate concern over situations we face in life. Nowhere in the Bible are we told never to be vigilant, not to work hard to care for our families, or not to be fervent in business. From time to time certainly we’ll all carry prayer burdens that would seem to grind us to powder.

There’s no shortage of legitimate concerns. Jesus mentioned several matters of common concern in Matthew 6:25-34. He spoke of our very lives, what we’ll eat or drink & wear. We could add other worries; Nuclear war, Bio-terrorism, accidents, aging, criticism, etc. But of course Jesus went on to declare that our heavenly Father knows what we need & will supply it for us. He then added,

-“But seek first the kingdom of God & His righteousness & all these things will be given to you as well.

Did you notice that this teaching comes right out of the middle of probably Jesus’ best known sermon? Also, did you notice how lovingly He dealt with the people, pointing them to the birds of the sky & the lilies of the field, reminding them that God took good care of them & likewise He’ll provide for us?

As we’ve said, there are real concerns to be addressed in our lives; however, you & I need to be ever watchful that we don’t let those “prayer concerns” morph into flat-out worry sessions.

The word worry in the Greek [merimnao] means to be divided. Worry is to be pulled in different directions. That is exactly what worry does.

Let me throw a little “hypothetical” at you here. Think for a moment or two & see if you can think of one good thing you’ve accomplished by worrying. Try to dredge up what you’ve achieved through worry. The goals you’ve reached, the joy & happiness worry has won for you, and the inspiration worry has brought into your life. Here’s my first point;


DO SOMETHING PRACTICAL TO OFF- SET THE WORRY!

If you were going to take an exam to, say, seek to advance in your job, which would benefit you the most; worrying about the test for ten hours-- or studying for two hours? Indeed, worry serves no good purpose—accomplishes nothing, achieves nothing, always assumes the worst can & will happen in every situation.

Years ago a man had a job that required that he travel extensively so he went to a therapist to discuss his fear of flying. He was afraid someone would put a bomb on a plane. The therapist advised him to study up on what the odds of someone bringing a bomb on the plane would be.

In a short time the man was able to fly with no worries. The therapist asked him what had helped him get over his fear of flying.

“Well, I went to a statistician & he told me the odds of there being a bomb on a plane were 1,000,000-1. I still felt it was too risky, so
I asked the odds of two bombs being put on a plane. The expert told me those odds would be so statistically remote it would be deemed to be impossible. So now I carry two bombs on every plane I travel on & I have no more worries.” Now before I get reported to Homeland Security concerning bombs on a plane let me hasten to say I’m not suggesting this. My point is, even though it was so silly as to be almost thought crazy, at least the man had an idea & instead of worrying he looked for a solution.

Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives us something to do but gets us nowhere. Worry tends to bend an individual over & someone has said, “Anything bent over too long will finally break.” Another wise man said, “There are two things we can worry over, things we can do something about & things we can’t. It makes no sense to worry about things we have control over because we should get busy doing something to effect the outcome. If it’s something we have absolutely no control over- well if we have no control over it, what’s the use of worrying about it?

I’m convinced that one of the major reasons we worry is—now this is going to sound strange—we worry because we can’t come to terms that life is dangerous, uncertain & fragile. We, like children, refuse [or at least we want to refuse but can’t] either on a conscious or subconscious level, to admit that life is fragile & our grip on life is almost unbelievably weak.

Too often we occupy ourselves with trying to render life 100% secure only to finally have to accept the fact that life can’t be domesticated like this. Life isn't foolproof, accident proof, disease proof, suffering proof & our attempts at making life that way end in anxiety beyond telling & we end up wrapped around the axle. This can end up causing us to be fretful, anxiety riddled, & warped profoundly. Too often we put stock in the myth that life can be made perfectly secure, consequently our worries & anxieties multiply.

HOW TO WIN THE WAR!

The way God has chosen for us to be joyful & victorious is to understand life is a vapor, nothing here is permanent, total security as far as this world is impossible, “all flesh is grass,” “all flesh is dust,” “ the form of this world is passing away,”& our one true security lies in Him & His care for us. Can you see it? When we change our focus we change our thinking & our attitude.

A lady was facing knee surgery & was a bit worried so she asked a Christian doctor how to cope with the fear. He said, “Turn your worry into prayers, get plenty of rest & don’t lick your incision.” My kind of doctor!

GET A SFJTD BOX AT YOUR HOUSE

Place on the outside of the box these words from Jesus;

“Today I’ll be handling all your problems. Please remember I don’t need your help. If the devil sends a problem, don’t try to handle it. Kindly place it in the SFJTD—Something For Jesus To Do—box. Once the problem is in the box don’t try to remove it, you’ll only delay the outcome, which by the way will come in my time not yours. If you think you can or should handle it yourself, first consult with me to be sure this would be wise.”

Once in a while my computer pops up a notation that I have a problem. After some checking, I’m warned I’d be wise not to try to handle it myself but to call a technician. I almost always honor this directive. If I ignore it I’m usually sorry.

Jesus’ instructions continue; “Remember, I don’t slumber nor sleep so there’s no need for you to lose any sleep. Rest my child. If you need to contact me you know my phone number [Jer.33:3] you can call me anytime.” Another way the Bible tells to fight worry is;


REMIND YOURSELF THAT WORRY IS SIN & DOES HARM, NEVER GOOD!

Jesus said,-“Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Statistically, Mayo Clinic has stated that 80% to 85% of their case load was in reality due artificially or directly to mental stress. Some experts have suggested that stress has taken the place of bacteria in the causal effect of disease. One leading physician has written that 70% of all medical patients could cure themselves if only they got rid of their worries & fears. Think about that! Medical science has closely tied worry to heart trouble, ulcers, high blood pressure, thyroid malfunction, migraine headaches, & a host of digestional tract disorders. An estimated 25 million Americans have blood pressure disorders due to stress/worry. 8 million have stomach ulcers & each week 112 million people take pills for stress related systems.

OFF-LOAD YOUR WORRIES THAT ARE BEYOND YOUR CONTROL TO YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER WHO LOVES YOU & CAN BE TRUSTED.

Friend, we can find ourselves caught in a rip-tide so strong we’re not equipped to swim against it. It’s at these times when God’s Word is so very precious to us.

Remember Isaiah 26:3—Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Remember 1 Peter 5:7—>Casting all your cares on Him because He cares for you.


REMEMBER, YOUR WORRYING CAN CAST A SHADOW ON THOSE YOU LOVE & ASSOCIATE WITH.

I am married to the emotionally strongest lady I’ve ever known. But God has dealt with me over the years that my moods, my bouts with weak faith & just my deportment in general can have great effect on her either for the bad or the good.

I’m not much of a “flower guy” but I’ve noticed along the way that flowers have an orientation toward the Sun & when they get plenty of sunlight they bloom effortlessly.

Husbands, have you noticed the truly beautiful wife you have? It’s possible to cast shadows of worry, doubt, & gloom over our mate making it difficult for them to bloom. It’s possible for us to be so engrossed in our own worries that we forget the role we play in the lives of others who need some water & sunlight.

You & I can be an encouragement or we can be a detriment.

We don’t see it often enough but occasionally we see on the face of an individual a glow of reflective beauty when they, like a flower have been basking in the sunlight of God’s tender love & care.

We can readily see they’ve won the war on worry & are allowing the peace of God which passes all understanding to keep their hearts & minds through Christ Jesus.

May we all be that person!

Casting all your care on Him-for He cares for you.


Blessings,


John