Tag Archives: Worry

Worry Not

Living in the Spirit

October 9, 2020

Scripture Reading:  
Philippians 4:1-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. –Philippians 4:4-9

I always considered my mother a worrier. I got the sense, at times, that my mother might have thought if she worried enough the bad thing she expected would not happen. I finally realized that what I classified as my mother worrying might have been the outward appearance of her prayers and supplications. She was a doer. If there was something, she could do to make things better she did it. Her depth of supplication I classified as worry generally related to something totally out of her control. I would love to chat with Paul to discern his take on the difference in worry and praying without ceasing.

The word translated “worry” Paul uses in the above scripture has a deeper meaning.

The Greek word merimnáō  is described as being drawn in opposite directions; “divided into parts” (A. T. Robertson); (figuratively) “to go to pieces” because pulled apart (in different directions), like the force exerted by sinful anxiety (worry). Positively, this word is used of effectively distributing concern, in proper relation to the whole picture*. What I would call not blowing something out of proportion.

Paul’s letters were written to people who were being pulled apart. Gentiles were being coaxed to consider an entirely different way of being than their culture had taught them—one God rather than many, love defining all actions, and working together in a diverse community of people. We face the same challenges today. And we see the impact of people being torn apart. Our many gods are gods of our own making too. They generally are more sinister than statues. We also are not doing well breaking out of our caste systems of race and wealth and gender. The other audience for Paul’s letters was his established religion who were so unwelcoming of Paul’s newfound relationship with God through Jesus Christ that he was persecuted. And yet, his faith in Christ, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance gave him the peace of being one with God and leading others to join him in that Oneness.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3309.htm

Prayer: Our whole nation seems torn apart. Finding common ground seems impossible, but we know all things are possible through you. Heal or wounded souls make us whole make us one. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Heavy Loads

Advent
December 2, 2018

Scripture Reading: Luke 21:25-36

‘Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.’ Luke 21:34-36

I am going to skip drunkenness; it could be an issue all to itself. I do want to deal with being weighed down with dissipation (spread out to the point of destroying an original identity) and the worries of this life. I get a sense that many are struggling with both.

Has Christianity been claimed by so many interpretations and viewpoints that it has lost its original identity? If so, how do we find common ground to reclaim our common identity? There are things being done in the name of Christ today that are foreign to me and I am sure that my practices are just as foreign to others who identify as Christian. How did this happen?

One of evil’s greatest tools is divide and conquer. It is primarily a military strategy that has been adopted by political functionaries and that has seeped into faith organizations. It is not new; it is as old as time itself. We should recognize it immediately, but the process always deals with our dearest beliefs or ideas and we get pulled into its grip. When divisiveness is pulling peoples apart, their best course of action is to identify the things on which they can agree and move forward together with them. He worse result of divide and conquer is probably not the issue at hand but the stalemate that results regarding getting anything done about anything else. We need to consider who benefits from that.

Worry has many different meanings, but I think the one that plagues us most is to subject to persistent or nagging attention or effort. The Greek word translated worry here describes cares of life*. Turning something over and over in our minds burns a whole lot of mental and emotional energy. In many instances, we worry about things over which we have no control but wished we did. I think of Jacob wrestling with God as a good example of this. Giving something over to God is probably the best way to deal with things over which we have no control that is easier said than done and takes a lot of practice on our part and I fear a lot of patience on God’s.

Prayer: Lord, journey with us through our daily struggles as people of faith and individual followers. Grant us your peace. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3308.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Action not Worry

Living in the Spirit
June 23, 2018

Scripture Reading: Mark 4:35-41

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Recently I watched the nightly news as is my normal routine and saw stories about immigrant children being separated from their parents as they attempted to enter our country. When I went to bed the stories replayed in my head and I could not go to sleep. I read for a while and in the wee hours of the morning did finally fall asleep.

During my first year of social work graduate school, I did my field placement at an agency tasked to advocate for the aging. The leader of that agency was an amazing woman and I learned a lot from her. The main lesson that stuck in my mind is that she rarely wavered from a peaceful, calm demeanor. She practiced a way of being that demanded she does the very best she could on the things she was called to do and over which she had control. She did this taking into consideration that she was always working with teams and groups and had to consider, enable, and respect each of their members’ talents and contributions as they intersected with her. There is no doubt in my mind that she would have marshaled a major response to an issue like the separation of children from their parents or grandparents. She might have lost some sleep because of reviewing next steps or evaluating the ones she had taken. I do not think she would have worried.

Is this essentially what Jesus is modeling for us in our scripture today? We have the same opportunity to trust God fully as Jesus did no matter what the situation and we need not worry either. I am obviously not there yet. I wonder if my sleepless night was telling me I had not done all I could do?

I play solitaire on my computer sometimes and the app I use has a message that flashes saying “there are no more moves possible”. Wouldn’t it be great in our ministries if we had a similar message from God? Jesus modeled the answer to that question recorded in the gospels in scenes describing how he went alone to pray including the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane when he was assured he had other moves to make. Constant communing with God creates trust.

Prayer: Thank you God for your abiding presence with us. Help us not to waste such a wonderful resource. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.