Hostage: Worry Thoughts

Another great weekend. I was pleasantly surprised with our crowd given this was Memorial Day weekend and the first real weekend of good weather around here. I remember last year, church felt like a ghost town. Not at all this year.

I was also totally surprised by how few people knew who Bear Grylls was. He is the patron saint of worrying about things that will probably never happen. I love his shows, his accent, his charitable works, and I think I’d like to hang with him — as long as I didn’t have to eat like him. I’m glad I showed the two clips of his shows because if I hadn’t – the joke/illustration would have completely been lost. Plus now our congregation knows the awesomeness that is Bear Grylls. Thank God for technology, huh?

Worry is sneaky because many of us don’t see it as a sin AND because it tricks us into thinking we have control over more than what we really do.

Worry is saying to God “I don’t think You are big enough to handle my problem.” Worry is the loss of perspective of big God is.

The weapon against worry – Matthew 6:33-34 — Seek first the Kingdom of God. Let God consume us and that will put in proper perspective our problems. God has given us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

A sound mind is one that does what God asks me to do, gives to God what I cannot do, and trusts God no matter what happens.

I do think the ‘sound mind’ piece can often be missed. I have this conversation over and over and over again in all my years as a pastor — if you’ll do what you KNOW God wants you to do (His Word, serve, worship, give) it will be easier to recognize His voice when He speaks. If you NEVER do what is CLEAR that God wants us to do, you’ll NEVER recognize His voice in the more subtle ways.

Next week in Hostage is ANGER.