I ll let you in on a secret. If there was a Worriers Hall of Fame I d be a charter member.

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1 Life Verses: Peace Philippians 4:4-7 The Worriers Hall of Fame I ll let you in on a secret. If there was a Worriers Hall of Fame I d be a charter member. I ve had to battle a worrisome nature my whole life, although I m quite a bit better now than I have been. As a youth I came to my pastor over something I was worried about. He asked me a couple of questions I have never forgotten. Has God been with you in the past? he asked. Of course, he has, I responded. Do you think he will be with you in the future? Sure, he will, I said. Then why would you doubt him in the present? What is it about hindsight? In looking back we are able to see that God has been with us all through, yet when it comes to the present moment we proceed as if the weight of the world is upon us. For me, it seems there always seems to be something to worry about. If I don t have anything to worry about I ll find something in quick order. I figure I m in good company. I am confident that there are more than a few Hall of Famer s here today and, if not Hall of Famer s, we ve got some who are pretty close to getting in. So what are you worried about? What causes you concern? And you are probably thinking, I really didn t come here to face what bugs me. I d much rather have a little reprieve from such things. I d much rather escape from all that. God, on the other hand, would much rather have us face what s bugging us and go ahead and deal with it. Worry Says a Lot about Who We Are Peppermint Patty of Peanuts cartoon fame was giving a report in school one day. This is my report on daytime and nighttime, she told the class. Daytime is so you can see where you are going. Nighttime is so you can lie in bed and worry. How are the nights going for you? Author Mary Crowley sums it up pretty well, Every evening I turn my worries over to God, after all, he s going to be up all night anyway. What is it about us? What s in us that causes us worry so much?

2 Let s face it, you and I are so concerned about what s next that we miss what s happening now. The uncertainty of what lies around the corner weighs us down more than we would ever care to admit. We re forever borrowing trouble. Experience has taught us that things don t always go our way, so we wait with trepidation over what might be and therefore miss what is. I ve heard it said, Worry pulls tomorrow s cloud over today s sunshine. For some people, the forecast is always cloudy with a high probability of storms. Walter Kelly writes, Worry is fear s extravagance. Worry is faith in the negative, trust in the unpleasant, assurance of disaster and belief in defeat. Worry is wasting today s time, cluttering up tomorrow s opportunities, with yesterday s troubles. God s Power to Overcome You re probably like me. Most of the stuff I worry about never comes to pass. Let s face it an average person s anxiety is focused on: Things that will never happen. The past that can t be changed. Criticism that is mostly untrue. And health concerns which only get worse with stress. Thank God the challenges we really do face are best dealt with in God s power to overcome. I ve heard it said, Frogs are smart. They eat what bugs them. While that may work for frogs, I m not so sure that s a good thing for people. Far too many eat their problems, literally and figuratively. Swallowing the cares and concerns of this life on a consistent basis will only cause problems over the long haul. People of faith don t eat their problems they seek out the power and presence of God to see them through. As we said last week, God is worthy of our trust. He will see us through. Worry Says a Lot about Our Relationship with God While a worrisome nature says a lot about you and me, it says even more about our faith in God. A worrisome nature speaks volumes about what we think about God and the love, power, and provision God offers.

3 God is big enough, strong enough, and powerful enough to help us meet any challenge that comes our way. Faith doesn t guarantee that everything is going to go our way. It does though help us live with the assurance that, with God s help, we will be able to make it through anything. Hear the words of Jesus at this point: 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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? (Matthew 6:25-27) So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34) Trusting in God s provision, seeking his ways first, and standing with faith that God stands to offer just what we need puts us right where God wants us to be. When we place ourselves in the care of God, the concerns of this life have a way of melting away. A Good Prescription for the Whole of Life Our scripture for today could have very easily formed the foundation for at least a sixpart sermon series. Paul offers a good word about joy, patience, worry, prayer, thanksgiving, and even peace. In and through it all, Paul offers a good prescription for the whole of life. Joy Paul writes, Rejoice in the Lord always. And as if to emphasize his point, he goes on to say, and again I say rejoice. We have every reason to be joyous.

4 In a happiness driven, instant gratification world, it s sometimes hard to get our hearts and minds around the fact that our joy is based not on external circumstance, but on the very things God does deep within. Patience Let everyone know your patience. For you above all people should know that the Lord is near, says Paul. For those bent upon worrying, patience is the farthest thing from their minds. Rather than living in each new day, they are constantly borrowing trouble from the next. Prayer The power to overcome what we face is really quite simple. It goes back to what Christ said about seeking first and one of the surest ways to do that is to pray. Paul puts it this way, Don t worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your request known to God. Now that s sound advice for troubled times. Or, for our purposes today sound advice for times that are perceived to be troublesome. In a word, prayer is Paul s solution for worry for he knows that when we pray we recognize God is near. I love to pray. I want to pray. I need to pray. The connectedness I share with God when I pray is not only the joy of my life, but the lifeblood of my spiritual life. I can always tell when I haven t been praying as I should. I have found that there is a direct correlation between the amount of worry in my life and the time I ve spent in prayer. The more I pray, the less I worry. In a word, prayer steadies life. It puts us in touch with the One who is able to keep us strong. Not only are we able to express ourselves, but we are at once put in touch with the wonderworking power of the Lord. People of faith, why would we spend ourselves worrying when we can better spend ourselves praying? Thanksgiving In I Thessalonians 5:17-18, Paul calls on us to pray continually, while giving thanks in all circumstances.

5 This, he says, is God s will for us in Christ Jesus. Paul puts it another way in our passage for today. Make your prayers and petitions with thanksgiving, he says. Whenever we say thanks we stand with faith, particularly when we say thanks before things have a chance to play out. By so doing, faithful anticipation comes into play. We stand with the confidence that God is about to act. Our hearts immediately become less worrisome and much more in tune with the One who longs to place a hedge of protection over our lives. Peace Theologian Marvin Vincent writes that peace is the fruit of believing prayer. Prayer, particularly prayer offered with thanks in anticipation of the great things God is about to do helps us overcome the worrisome, anxious currents of our lives like nothing else can. Let s think of it like this: Prayer + Thanks = Peace. I use a passage to close out almost every worship serve. And now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus now and forever more. I quote that verse because I figure that just about everybody is looking for a little peace. Peace from the sin that so weighs us down. Peace from struggles that so often present themselves. Peace from the worrisome currents of life that have a way of overwhelming us. In that peace then, we are more prone to be joyous and ultimately more perseverant when worry comes our way. I don t know about you, but the peace that passes all understanding is the very thing that keeps me afloat. And, to be quite honest with you, puts my place in the Worriers Hall of Fame in severe jeopardy.

6 Don t Worry about Anything Stevie Wonder encourages us when he sings, Don t you worry about a thing. Bobby McFerrin does the same thing with his, Don t Worry, Be Happy. The Word of God puts it best, Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, transcends your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.