SNS 016: How to Not Worry
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Show Notes
So, how do we not worry? I have always found worry to be a very great nuisance; a highly troublesome companion that is rather hard to get rid of. And, how is that even done? I mean not worrying about things? That is what we are going to explore here in this episode, number 16.
My name is Charles, Charles Yerkes, and this is The Simple Not Shallow Podcast. A podcast for those who want a deeper faith, not a confusing one. That is what our name is all about, keeping faith in Christ simple; simple enough that a child-like myself can understand it and yet, not so shallow, that when the storms of life hit, and you know they will hit, our faith is forced to run aground. This podcast is for those who want their faith… to be like a good cup of coffee. That is; simple, strong, full of flavor, and richly satisfying. Just like this cup of French roast that I’m sipping on right now. I do love French roast, very satisfying.
Anyway, so take your time, kick back, and sip on this.
Have you ever been known to worry about anything? I have and I can tell you from personal experience that it is not that much fun. And you know something else? I’ve never found any of those great motivational sayings to be of much use in helping me to not worry. You know the ones, “worry never solves anything,” “worry only makes matters worse,” or one of my favorites, “worry is just concern that has lost its faith.” Nope, I have not any of them to be very helpful, whatsoever. For, while they are true, they do not address the underlying causes of the worry. Which I have always found to lie much deeper than any mere saying can reach. I have found, at least in my own life, that worry comes from a lack of proper focus. I can already hear you cringing over the words, proper focus? Yes, proper focus. Now, hang with me for just a second, and I’ll explain. Because I bet that this is not what you are thinking about.
Over the past few months, I have been working on some worry; on trying to get rid of it. Worry about not having enough time to do everything that I need to do, worry over my finances, over not being where I want to be at this point in my career, and over…. Ok, perhaps one or two other things as well. During this time, I have also been very hard at work here putting together this podcast together, creating a YouTube channel, and doing many things here at simplenotshallow.com. Which, by the way, I think I’m now going to call the home of The Simple Not Shallow Coffee House. That simply has a nice ring to it.
Anyway, anyway, anyway, I digress. Because of the work here at Simple Not Shallow, at the coffee house, I do spend a good deal of time reading my Bible, thinking about what I have read, and trying to find ways to share all of the exciting things that I’m finding. As I’ve been doing this, however, I began to understand that God is trying to teach me something very specific. That I need to fully live out everything that I am sharing with others. He started teaching me this and my initial reaction was, “But wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait I am alrea… Oh…. Worry…. Oh, yeah, ok.” And from that point on, I have started each day asking God to give me the wisdom I need in order to live out what I was learning, that is to live a life from his love and so to not worry. And… some other things too, but principally, to not worry. It is from doing this that my answer about how to not worry comes from. Yes, I have found that worry comes from a lack of proper focus. More plainly stated, it comes from my focus on the wrong thing.
You see, I find that I tend to worry when I focus on where I am not and by not focusing on where I truly am. I know, I know, I know. That sounds kind of vague and ethereal; I know, so let me give you some context for this, some scriptural context.
To start with, this is all tied back into God’s love and to our love for him and for our neighbors. As we have touched on this so many previous episodes of this podcast, I’m not going to delve deeper into that now. I only mention it now in order to set the context for everything else we will be talking about in this episode.
So, moving on to a more specific scriptural context. The first passage I found helpful in thinking about this, reads something like this, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice…. Let your gentleness be known…. In nothing be anxious” (Philippians 4:4 – 7). Isn’t that interesting, rejoice in the Lord always.
Then I found another passage; one that asks, who can add even a moment to his life by worry? So, it says, lay up your treasure in heaven, seek God’s kingdom, and all else will be taken care of (Matthew 6:19 – 24; Luke 12:22 – 34). So, rejoicing in the Lord always is a vital part of laying up treasure in heaven, in seeking God’s kingdom first.
So, how does that tie into keeping focus on where I am and not on where I am not? The first thing that came to my mind, as I was thinking about all this, was David, King David, being so focused on the presence of his Shepherd, God, that he feared nothing even while walking in the very center of the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). So firstly, where I am is in the presence of Jesus. He is always with me, and so I am where he is. Next, I was reminded that because I am a follower of Christ, I am a citizen of heaven, I am in the process of waiting for Jesus, and I am in the midst of striving to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me (Philippians 3:12 – 21).
See, I am is en route. That is where I am. I am in a place of growing and I am in a vital relationship with Jesus, who is God himself. I am on my way. That is where I am and that is where my focus needs to be. Where I am not is everything else in life. For everything else is outside of this vital relationship with Christ. Focusing there, on the outside, always leads to worry.
Let’s see, there has to be a clearer way to phrase this. Focusing on where you are is focusing on Jesus and on the fact that you are wrapped up in the exact center, in the middle, of God’s love for you. You are wrapped up in the middle of God’s will and purpose for your life. For that is where you truly are if you have said yes to a vital relationship with Jesus.
To worry, then, is to stay focused on anything else, for anything else is outside of a relationship with God. Much like Peter when he started to sink (Matthew 14:30), when we take our eyes off Jesus our attention becomes fixated on the problems at hand and the worry starts to grow. But when we are focused on God, and on God alone, our concern stays just that, a concern, and it never escalates into worry. Concern is healthy, worry is not. It is also interesting to me to note that staying focused on Jesus could be termed abiding in him and his love (John 15). And that is a very good place to be.
So, love simply, love wisely, love well, and allow God’s love to fill you to the point that you stay focused on him and are able to stay free from worry.
Well, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you, so please, go to simplenotshallow.com, and under the Simple Not Shallow Podcast section, find this episode, #16. Go to the Choose the Episode section and click on this episode; then you will be able to leave me a comment. Tell me what you think. Also, there you’ll find the show notes. And in the show notes, there will be a transcript of this episode and there, I’ll list all the verses I referenced in this podcast; at the point in the transcript at which I referenced them. That way you can check me out to make sure I’m not making any of this up. For, while I am a very creative individual, I never want to be that creative. Also, please take a second to rate this episode and subscribe to this podcast through the podcast service of your choice. You know, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or whichever service you prefer. That way, you can take the podcast with you, wherever you want to go. When you are driving your car, going to work, taking your morning jog, walking your dog. However, whenever, wherever. Thank you. Thank you very much. I’ll catch you next time.