©
1999 James A. Fowler
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WORRY
I. Representative Biblical references to "worry"
A. Old Testament
Ps. 37:1-7
- "Fret not yourself...trust in the Lord...trust in Him"
Ps. 38:18
- "I am full of anxiety because of my sin"
Ps. 94:19
- "my anxious thoughts multiply within me..."
Prov. 12:25
- "anxiety in the heart of man weighs it down"
Isa. 35:4
- "Say to those with anxious heart, 'Take courage, fear
not.'"
B. New Testament
Matt. 6:25-34
- "do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat,
or what you shall drink; nor
for your body, what you shall put on. ...men of little faith.
Do not be anxious...for your heavenly
Father knows that you need all these things..."
Matt. 10:19,20
- "do not be anxious about how or what you will speak...it
is not you who speaks,
but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you"
Mk. 4:18,19
- "the seed among thorns...are the ones who have heard the
word, and the worries of
the world, and the deceitfulness of riches...enter in and choke
the word, and it becomes unfruitful"
Mk. 13:11
- "do not be anxious about what you will say...it is the
Holy Spirit who speaks"
Lk. 8:14
- "seed among thorns...choked with worries and riches and
pleasures of this life"
Lk. 10:41
- "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so
many things"
Lk. 12:11
- "do not be anxious about what you should speak in your
defense"
Lk. 12:22-30
- "do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat,
what you shall eat...O men of
little faith...your Father knows what you need"
Lk. 21:34
- "do not let your hearts be weighted down with dissipation
and drunkenness and the
worries of life...keep on the alert, praying"
I Cor.
7:21 - "were you called while a slave? Do not worry about
it..."
I Cor.
7:32-34 - "I want you to be free from concern. ...One who
is married is concerned about
the things of the world, how he may please his wife...his interests
are divided"
II Cor.
11:28 - "the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the
churches"
Phil. 2:20
- "Timothy...will be genuinely concerned for your welfare"
Phil. 2:28
- "I have sent him that...I may be less concerned about
you"
Phil. 4:6,7
- "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God...shall
guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus"
II. Attempting a definition of "worry"
A. English word "worry"
from Old English wyrgan and Old High German wurgen,
both
meaning
"to strangle, to choke"
B. Greek word merimnao used in
most NT references above
1. Etymologically
derived from merizo = "to divide;" and nous
= "mind."
Thus
means "divided mind" - cf. I Cor. 7:34
2. Linguistically
at time NT written, did not necessarily have negative connotation
("to be anxious,
worried"), but often had a neutral orientation ("to
be concerned, to care").
C. Difficult to distinguish sometimes
between modern usage of English words "concern, worry, anxiety"
1. "concern"
means to "have an interest in, give attention to, be engaged
by a situation, as a matter
of consideration or responsibility"
2. "worry"
is a disquieted uneasiness of mind, an anxious apprehension concerning
an impending
or anticipated situation; fretting about a foreboding misfortune
or failure. ("Worried"
and "anxious" are used as synonyms.)
3. "anxiety"
has become a psychological designation of abnormal, overwhelming
apprehension;
anguished uncertainty and self-doubt about one's ability to cope
with the situation,
to the point of becoming distressed, distraught, panicky or tormented.
D. A working definition from a Christian
perspective:
1. "Concern"
becomes "worry" when we fail to relate the situation
that confronts us to the source
of sufficiency in God.
2. To worry
is to assume a responsibility that is not necessarily ours to
assume; failing to recognize
that God is bigger than any problem we might have, and loves
us enough to seek our
highest good in the midst of every situation.
3. Worry
is a form of humanistic self-orientation that thinks, "It's
up to me to take care of this situation,"
and is thus a form of practical atheism, acting as if there is
no God to deal with the
situation, or that God doesn't know or care about the situation.
III. "Worry" and the age we live in
A. Ours has been called "The
Age of Anxiety"
1. People's
faces: taut, constricted, intense
2. Attitudes:
disquieted, apprehensive, vexed
3. Relationships:
distrust, alienation
4. Physical
signs: ulcers, nervous breakdowns, heart diseases
B. What are people worried about?
1. daily
provision - cf. Matt. 6:35+
2. employment
3. future
- cf. Matt. 6:34
4. life
and death
5. health
6. personal
relationships
7. personal
relationships - children, family, friends
8. pleasing
people - cf. Lk. 10:41
9. finances,
interest rates, stock-markets
10. witnessing
- cf. Lk. 12:11
C. The advice of the world concerning
"worry"
1. Don't
worry; it's a waste of time; think positive!
2. Don't
worry; don't believe the situation is real; it's an illusion
3. Don't
worry; it may never happen
4. Don't
worry; get control of yourself; you're in charge
5. Don't
worry; buy enough insurance for every eventuality
6. Don't
worry; be happy; laugh your troubles away
7. Don't
worry; bite the bullet; you'll feel no pain
8. Don't
worry; it might get better, but it'll probably get worse
9. Don't
worry; get busy doing active things; it'll take your mind off
10. Don't worry;
have another drink, hit, pill
11. Don't worry;
go see your therapist
12. Don't worry;
it's all going to be over soon
13. Don't worry;
these circumstances are just the "cross" you have to
bear
14. Don't worry;
it's a sin; Stop it!
IV. Developing a Christian attitude toward "worry"
A. As defined above, "worry"
is contrary to the attitudes and activity that God would have
Christians
to be involved with.
1. Fails
to take God into account in the situation
2. Self-oriented
assumption of responsibility
3. "Whatever
is not from faith is sin" - Rom. 14:23
B. Rather than having a "divided
mind" concerning the situation, we are to look to God in
the
midst
of the situation.
Ps. 37:1-7
- "Fret not...trust in the Lord..."
Ps. 42:11
- "Why are you in despair...hope in God"
Ps. 55:22
- "Cast your burden upon the Lord, and He will sustain you"
Matt. 6:32,33
- "your heavenly Father knows that you need these things;
seek first His kingdom
and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to
you."
I Peter
5:7 - "cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for
you"
C. Looking to God in prayer should be
our response
Lk. 21:36
- "keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that
you may have strength"
Phil. 4:6
- "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God."
D. Such prayer is done in faith - "our
receptivity of His activity"
Ps. 62;8
- "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart
before Him"
James 5:15
- "prayer offered in faith"
E. The result will be "peace"
in place of bothersome, disquieting "worry"
Numb. 6:26
- "The Lord lift up His countenance, and give you peace"
Ps. 94:19
- "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Thy consolations
delight my soul"
Jn. 14:27
- "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you... Let
not your heart be troubled, nor
let it be fearful"
Phil. 4:7
- "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension,
shall guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus"
Col. 3:15
- "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts"
F. Christian's perspectives and responses
to situations are different
1. Not
seeking to escape, withdraw or remove all problems
2. Not
indifferent, apathetic, unconcerned in situations
3. "God
causes all things to work together for good to those who love
God, to those who are called
according to His purpose" - Rom. 8:28
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