Let me begin with a warning about the following discussion.
We are going to talk about worry.
Yes, I know worry is dreadful and we have enough of it. Bear with me, I come with good news!
You may be asking “Why bring worry up when we are doing the work to suppress or ignore it?”
First, you’ll start by quickly estimating how much time you spend on worrying each week. Hopefully, your percentage is small, and if not, it’s okay, you are fitting in with the rest of us.
Personally, I wish we had a notification similar to the one that shares our screen time data each week. It’d pop up with an alert letting us know how much time we averaged worrying per day.
Yippee!
It’s cynical to say. Though I’m thankful it’s not just me. There is comfort in knowing that others are in the same boat, thinking it’s about to sink. Suffering with others can be comforting.
It’s amazing how overwhelming a wave of worry can be. Worry will come first thing in the morning, in the middle of the night. You’ll be worrying about work, a light switch in the kitchen, the kids at school, the list becomes so long before you realize worry is taking over your life.
The job, the house, the kids, the state of our country, the animals.. there is an enemy crouching behind the bushes that knows how to manipulate your psyche.
The good news: Recognizing our worry can lead to healing.
Thankfully, getting to know Jesus, practice, and the impact of good mentoring, I’ve learned to go to God with everything. Don’t mistake this “going to God” thing as easy. Even with years of practice, human nature takes over unapologetically. I wouldn’t have had the holy moment I’m sharing now if I hadn’t first began the spiraling.
In the midst of the spiraling, I suddenly was reminded of Jesus and a passage from His gospel that touches on worrying. You can find it in the book of Matthew, Chapter 6. I’ve shared it below so we can unpack it together.
Jesus begins by saying, “I tell you not to worry about everyday life — whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your Heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” (6:25-27)
Immediately I found comfort in His words. His reminder prompted me to calculate how much value worrying about anything has actually brought me. If my calculations are correct, worry only makes things worse and speeds up the spiraling.
He goes on, “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (6:28-30)
Come on Jesus, do you really think I have time to pause and notice ANYTHING when I am in the middle of worrying about everything? It seems impossible at first, until He fires off a question that makes us think.
“Why do you have so little faith?”
While we run through the numbers, weigh out the “what ifs”, and try to plan for the future, Jesus is always asking us something. Like a child, we may need to be asked a couple times before complying.
Once I finally heard what He was asking here, I was able to answer with my head in my hands, “I’m not sure.. I think it’s fear.” Our conversation continued because I chose to read ahead. He encourages us, dear reader, not to worry and to “Seek the Kingdom of God” instead. (6:31-34)
In those moments fresh off the frazzled train, all I could think of was “What does seek the kingdom even mean?”. If you are thinking that now, I beg you to sit with that question as long as you’re allowed.
Our time is so precious here, yet we so easily let ourselves be consumed with worry and fear. I believe it with all of my heart, that seeking first the kingdom is healthy place to start.
Seeking the Kingdom is:
- Looking for the light when we are drowning in the dark.
- Tuning out the news and tuning into our heart.
- Resting assured that there is a greater plan.
- Recognizing that we can’t hold worry when we are holding God’s hand.
Jesus has proven to me time and time again that His truth is the power AND the plan. When we set our eyes on the kingdom at large, we defeat the worry that tries to take charge.
My challenge for you is to see where YOU are. Are you worried about anything? If so, define it. Give it a name.
Try for a moment to visualize what it would look like to lay that worry at Jesus’s feet. Let this scripture travel with you for more than just today. Allow it to permeate through your moments of worry this week.
Instead of finding comfort together in the suffering, let’s remind each other to first seek our Heavenly King.
PEACE, PEACE, PEACE.
Makenna Curtis
Local Pulse Community Writer
Holy Moments
