“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? - Matt. 6:25
If you're like me you worry. Worry is like a bad tenant who rented out some space in my brain years ago and although I've evicted him several times he keeps sneaking back in and stinking up the place. The first part of this year was perhaps the biggest struggle with worry I've ever experienced. The source was a growing understanding of our country's fragile financial solvency as a result of the Quantitative Easing policies of the Federal Reserve, and a growing concern that this IS in fact the biggest threat our nation has ever faced. You could say I became obsessed with learning what in the world was going on here. April and other friends tried to pull me out of the pit but in the end I had to climb out myself and find a place of peace, giving the worry to God. In my defense, a good part of my anxiety was in fact ongoing intercessory prayer. But a larger part was good ole fashion fear. And that's where my Father was trying to comfort me.
I appreciate Christ's command to "not worry about your life" but it's just so natural it seems. I mean we all have to work, right? The scripture also says, "If you don't work you shouldn't eat" (2 Thess 3:10) and "talk" without "hard work" leads to poverty (Prov. 14:23). It seems natural to worry that our hard work will be stollen by forces we cannot control. And you know what? It just might. Corrupt leaders have taken from weaker "subjects" for all of human history. So how do we not worry when there really is something to worry about?! Here's what I've rediscovered.
I can't say I'm cured by any means. That dirty, dangerous tenant likes to bang on the walls of my mind nearly everyday. But what I've rediscovered is that when the worry man comes knocking it's time to bang right back... with worship! We MUST remember we are MADE to worship. It's fine to seek understanding and prepare for what the world may fire at us. But it's not fine to get lost in that preparedness and forget that we aren't even citizens of this world. We are -- right now -- in fact "citizens of heaven" (Philippians 3:10). And what are they doing in Heaven? Worship. Praise. Honoring God day after day. So why would we not celebrate the realm we actually live in ... along with all the multitudes in heaven who are doing the same?
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. - Nehemiah 9:5-7We are meant to worship. In the first half of this year I obsessed about the world, America, and the dollar. So I promised God a few months back that I would spend the last half of the year obsessing more about Him, His scriptures, His people, and His Kingdom. In keeping that promise I've read through Romans a few more times, taught my kids new praise and worship, and pressed into deeper fellowship with friends in the Kingdom of God. Each of these things are worship. And each of them are not only healing, they bring focus, balance, security, and purpose. We are MADE to worship. When we worship we escape the clutches of this dark place and ascend On High with our Maker! We are made to worship.
So if you're like me... it's hard not to worry. But when we are tempted to worry we should worship instead. For me that means worshipping all day long, just as it should be.
Do Not Worry...but Do Worship
