{"id":1633,"date":"2022-05-11T08:50:25","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T12:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=1633"},"modified":"2022-05-11T08:50:25","modified_gmt":"2022-05-11T12:50:25","slug":"no-worries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2022\/05\/11\/no-worries\/","title":{"rendered":"No Worries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You don\u2019t need to worry about anything.

Really. <\/em>

Scripture is unambiguous on this point.  Worry should never be part of the life of someone who follows Jesus.  This seems so incomprehensible, however \u2013 and we see so few people living worry-free lives \u2013 that it\u2019s tempting to conclude the Bible is asking for the impossible.

Philosopher and author Dallas Willard was once asked what he thought was the most revealing mark or measure of spiritual growth.  Was it acing a theology exam?  Or speaking in tongues?  Or achieving a perfect church attendance record? 

Willard suggested that the best evidence of growing closer to Christ is feeling less irritated than we used to feel \u2013 less anxious and worried about circumstances. 

At the heart of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says: \u201c\u2018Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? \u2026 Therefore do not worry, saying, \u201cWhat will we eat?\u201d or \u201cWhat will we drink?\u201d or \u201cWhat will we wear?\u201d \u2026 But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well\u201d (Matthew 6:25-33, selected verses). 

Paul the apostle adds, \u201cDo not worry about anything\u2026\u201d (Philippians 4:6). 

About anything<\/em>? 

Some Christians get angry when they\u2019re challenged not to worry.  In a fallen world, after all, there seem to be more than a few things worth worrying about.  Isn\u2019t it true that worrying about something or someone demonstrates that we care<\/em>?   

Actually, for all too many of us, worry is a desperate attempt to stay in control. 

Since we\u2019re not at all certain that God is going to take care of us, we need to invest our emotional energy in \u201cimagining what might happen\u201d and \u201cpreparing for the worst.\u201d  Anxiousness can become our identity.  Our worries can give us something to talk about \u2013 something to elicit attention and concern when others ask how we\u2019re doing.  But this is not a sign of spiritual maturity.  This is not some kind of proof that we care<\/em>. 

It\u2019s important to note that Jesus and Paul are not commanding us to banish our anxious feelings, as if we could do such a thing with a snap of our fingers.  Feelings cannot be commanded<\/em>.  But behaviors and attitudes can. 

Jesus doesn\u2019t say, for instance, \u201cYou need to have happier feelings about everybody who has it in for you\u2026starting now.\u201d  But he does give us a plan of action that starts right now.  We should pray for our enemies and actively seek ways to bless them.  Slowly but surely, our feelings begin to align with our choices.

In the same regard, Paul says, \u201cDon\u2019t be worried about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God\u201d (Philippians 4:6).  In other words, take action:  Present your needs to God.  And express your thanks.  \u201cAnd the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus\u201d (4:7).  Worry begins to lose its grip on our lives when we realize that we live every moment of every day under the canopy of God\u2019s unbroken care, and that the good story that God has planned for the universe is going to come true. 

Which means that absolutely nothing is going to happen to our kids or our grandkids or the neighbors or our X-rays or our saving accounts or Ukraine or the world\u2019s tectonic plates unless it goes through God\u2019s hands first.

That\u2019s why we don\u2019t need to worry about anything. 

Peter has something important to contribute as well:  \u201cCast all your cares on him [God], because he cares for you\u201d (I Peter 5:7). 

The verb \u201ccast\u201d is interesting.  It has two primary meanings: to throw, and to throw away. 

In the first case, we cast a shadow, cast a glance, or cast a fishing line.  We put something out there.  Having thrown a fishing line, we reel it back in, check the bait, and cast it back into the water.

In the second case, we throw something away with no expectation of retrieving it.  We cast off all restraint.  Snakes cast their skins.  An apple tree casts its fruit to the ground \u2013 apples that can never \u201cgo back\u201d onto those branches.

Which sense of \u201ccast\u201d is Peter using?  Surely it\u2019s the second one.  When we cast all our cares, we refuse to reel them back in, as if to say that God doesn\u2019t really understand our issues, or probably can\u2019t handle them, so we had better stay in control by worrying. 

Instead, we let go.  We cast our cares (and note the wonderful words that follow) on<\/em><\/strong>him<\/em><\/strong>.  And we leave them there.

Why?  \u201cBecause he cares for you.\u201d 

Which means we now have a two-word description of what it means to be a lifelong learner of Jesus:

No worries<\/em>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You don\u2019t need to worry about anything. Really.  Scripture is unambiguous on this point.  Worry should never be part of the life of someone who follows Jesus.  This seems so incomprehensible, however \u2013 and we see so few people living worry-free lives \u2013 that it\u2019s tempting to conclude the Bible is asking for the impossible. Philosopher and author Dallas Willard… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[179,296],"class_list":["post-1633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-prayer","tag-worry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1635,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1633\/revisions\/1635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}