Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible
Worry
Dear Father Paul: I am a 56-year-old grandmother who has had a life long struggle with worry and anxiety. My husband calls me “the family worry wart.” I hate to admit it, but he is right. I worry about everything … big things and little things … makes no difference. A friend told me that God is not pleased with worry. Is that true? If so, where is that in the Bible?
Thank you. — E. B.
Dear E. B.: Indeed God is not pleased when we worry because the “root” of worry is a thing called “fear.” Basically, fear leads to worry. In other words, we worry because we are afraid. And God absolutely (as a loving parent) does not want his children to live their lives in fear, and the anxiety and worry that come from fear. As a matter of fact, the words, “fear not … do not fear … be not afraid … do not be afraid,” and similar phrases are found 365 times in the Bible! Wow Amazing!! That’s one for every single day of the year. Maybe God is trying to tell us something.
But, aside from the fact that God knows that fear, worry and anxiety are bad for us and that the stress they cause can actually kill us … to God, worry is a clear sign of our unbelief and lack of faith and trust in Him. When we worry all of the time we are essentially saying to God, “God, I don’t believe that you are either able or willing to take care of the situation I am so concerned about.”
That kind of thinking literally breaks God’s heart as our loving heavenly Father. Think about it. How would you as a parent have felt if one of your little ones had come to you one day and said, “Momma, I’m really worried that you and Daddy are going to abandon me, stop giving me food, clothes to wear and a roof over my head.” You’d have been cut to the heart, right? And after you recovered, you’d have set about immediately to reassure your child that they need have no worries or fear because you were always there to take care of them and meet their needs.
That same simple message is a major part of what the Bible says to us, his children.. When Jesus said in Matthew 28:20 (New Living Translation) “… and be sure of this: I am with you always, even until the end of the age,” he was repeating the words of Moses, who assured Joshua with God’s words in Deuteronomy 31:8 (New Living Translation) “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you or abandon you.” This is God’s promise to his children. All he asks is that we trust in him and believe his words.
The lack of faith we show when we worry can seriously impact our relationship with God. It can result in a wide gulf between us and God, because, as the Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, (New International Version) “Without faith it is impossible to please God …”
So where do worry, fear and anxiety come from? Well, as we’ve seen, they do not come from God, that’s for sure. II Timothy 1:7 (New Living Translation) says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self discipline.”
So if not from God, then who? Ephesians 6:12 has the answer (New International Version) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood … but against the spiritual forces of evil …” So when we listen to a voice that tells us, “You need to worry about this, or worry about that,” we are really listening to and heeding the voice of our mortal enemy, Satan. The good news is that the Bible tells us how to stop worry in its tracks. Simply do these three things. First, strengthen your faith walk with God. Then, live daily these two admonitions of James 4:7 “… Humble yourself before God. (and) Resist the Devil, and he will flee (run) from you.” (New Living Translation).
Why not try this simple three step Bible remedy. You have nothing to lose but your worries and fears. Besides, 99 percent of the things we worry about so much never happen anyway. Think about that.
Do you have a question? Send it to me at paulmassey@earthlink.net and I will try to answer your question in the paper.
Father Paul Massey is pastor emeritus of Church of the Holy Cross Charismatic Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, Georgia. Go to www.holycrosschurch.wordpress.com for more information, service times and directions.
