Worry

 June 25, 2023

This morning I rode my motorcycle to Findley Lake where I filled in for their vacationing pastor. It was a good morning, a great day for a ride. On the way home, I got to thinking about Nate’s baccalaureate talk with the Panama seniors Tuesday night, where he contrasted worry with seeking God.

Had I given that talk, I would have contrasted worry with faith, but I think Nate did better than I. “Faith” can be pretty abstract, but seeking God is concrete, something you can sink your teeth into. He actually read Matthew’s words more accurately than I. Here’s what Jesus said:

““I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?… Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

—Matthew 6:25, 31-33 

Jesus was talking about worry, and he didn’t tell his listeners to have more faith; he told them to seek God. Whenever I am scheduled to preach, I worry. I worry that I won’t have the right words for what the listeners need at that moment, that I won’t be clear about the Gospel, that I’ll end up giving good advice instead of the Good News, that I won’t be precise enough in giving an invitation to discipleship and faith in Christ.

Did you read that carefully? How many times did the word “I” appear? That’s the whole problem. As long as I am focused on my situation or on how I feel, I can talk about faith all I want, but I’m not seeking God, and if I’m not seeking God, the only alternative is worry. Worry focuses on me; seeking God narrows my field of vision to God himself—he is the focus of my attention, and when that happens, worry vanishes.