Worrying is a lasting preoccupation with past or future bad events. It is a type of thinking that makes you feel as if you were reliving a past event or living out a future one, and you cannot stop those thoughts from occurring. Such thoughts are often characterized by the phrases “If only…” and “What if…”
“If Only” Thoughts
“If only…” refers to thoughts about an unhappy event that you wish hadn’t happened. The event has left you with an unresolved emotional feeling, and under these circumstances your mind continues to try to resolve it, trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.
Unfortunately, in many cases, because the event has already happened, nothing can be done. You cannot go back into the past and miraculously have the event turn out differently. But when your mind recalls the event, its natural tendency is to keep trying to solve the problem it represented.
“What If” Thoughts
“What if…” refers to thoughts about the future. In the case of worry, these thoughts are about any number of possible disagreeable things that could happen.
- “What if I have an automobile accident?”
- “What if I run out of money and can’t pay my bills?”
- “What if my spouse should someday no longer love me?”
- “What if I make a mistake and everyone thinks I’m a fool because of it?”
Dr. Charles Mayo of the famed Mayo clinic said: “I’ve never known a man who died of hard work, but MANY who die of worry.”
“The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work”. Robert Frost
“As a rule, men worry more about what they can’t see than about what they can”. Julius Caesar
Worry refers to negative self-talk that often detracts the mind from focusing on the problem at hand.
What does the Bible have to say about Worry?
Proverbs 12: 25 (NLT)
Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.
Psalms 55:22 (NCV)
22 Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will never let good people down.
Isaiah 26: 3-4 (TNIV)
3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.
I Peter 5:7 (NLT)
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Is it a sin to worry? The answer is yes!
It is a sin to do anything that Jesus tells us not to do and Jesus says in the following passage 3 times,(Matthew 6:25-34) “do not worry”.
Philippians 4: 6-7 (NLT) Author-Paul
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
vs. 25 has the word “therefore” and the therefore is referring back to the pervious scripture vs. 25
Jesus has just been speaking to the disciples (that is you if you know Jesus)on the subject of “treasures in Heaven” and He just said “No one can serve two masters. Either he or she will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6: 25-34 (NIV)
25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Everyone of us should write this on a card and stick it in a prominent place)
28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY
(What are some of the things we people worry about during the Christmas Holiday Season?)
What gifts do we buy for those we love?
What gift do we buy for that one we have to buy for and don’t like? lol.
How much money should we spend on that gift?
Will they really appreciate it anyway?
How much money should I spend on myself while I am buying all these nice things for everyone else?
Hey I need food, clothing, and shelter!
And by the way, those black shoes I have don’t go with the brown outfit, the brown shoes don’t go with the red outfit, the white shoes can’t be worn in the winter, the boots can’t be worn in the summer!
So, I need more shoes!
Then the biggie – how am I ever going to pay for all of this? The credit cards, the layaway’s, the bills that I have run up tying to please, impress, and satisfy?
The truth is: We have it all wrong!
We think to much about how much money to spend for all the wrong reasons.
We think too much about how good I look or how fashionable I am .
We think too much about buying gifts for everyone that we know.
We think too much about how to be a people pleaser.
We have gotten it all wrong!
Matthew 6: 25-34
Matthew 6: 33 (NIV)
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Here is a Facebook status that I posted a few days ago in preparation for this sermon and some responses:
Ronnie G Collins HELP! Matt 6:33 Respond & tell me what this means, seek 1st his kingdom & his righteousness, & all these things will B given to you as well.
The verse is not about “receiving” as some might think. It is about worry (look at 6:25-34). We must turn to God for help and obey Him in everything. We tend to give our everyday worries (people, food, things, “stuff”) priority in our thoughts. Giving God priority thinking time causes all the “stuff” to fall into place. This is something I need to remind myself of everyday.
each day( if I find myself in his presence and guidance then I will be content ). It will make the “things” of this world seem less important and souls can be witnessed to, etc.
God supplies all our needs. We, in this modern day, have it all backwards. We focus on ME, ME, Me. His rightouseness-that we see him as He is-AND THEN OUR LIVES REFLECT THAT.
God still blessed him with many of the promises made, but I would have loved to see what Solomon could have been had he sought only the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
to seek after, look for, strive to find
try to learn about
want to
want, ask, ask for; demand, require, expect; consider, deliberate, examine investigate
I believe Jesus is saying “I love you more than anything else in the world. As a matter of fact, I came to earth in human flesh (Jesus the Christ) and died because I love you so much.
Therefore, love me more than anything or anyone else. To show that you love me this way is to spend time with me, reading and studying the Scripture, Giving, Praying, and Fasting as stated in Matthew Chapter 6: 1-18
Want to know me better, ask for understanding, demand insight, require nothing but to find me. Search with expectancy, examine every possibility and investigate every avenue.
Search for me as if I were treasure hidden in a field, search for me as if I were pearls more valuable than anything.
Make me #1 because I made you #1 over Two Thousand Years ago.
Give over your worries for your search for me and I will take care of the rest.
Ronnie
Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.