Letting Go

Anxiety is a hangover of bad habits established when we were trusting things that were certain to let us down.
Dallas Willard

I love the way Willard hits us with the damaging aspects of worry. Not only does he compare worry to a hangover, but he also lets us know that worrying is a bad habit. He identifies some of the things that we tend to trust: human approval and wealth just to name a couple. Notice that Willard is "certain" that these things will let us down. Human experience is on his side. Is there a secret to breaking old habits? There are many methods for breaking habits. But, one of my favorite methods is replacing the bad habit with a good habit. Instead of worrying, try prayer.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (Philippians 4:6)

Number One

One of the most prevalent topics in leadership development circles is time management. Most time management gurus have a system to help us determine priorities. Becoming a wise steward of our days, weeks, months and years begins with some tough questions. What matters most? What do I value? What is most important today? I remember when I began my first "full time" pastorate. I was a few weeks short of 30 years old. I have often thought about the fact that Jesus was about the same age when he began his "public" ministry. Three years later he was crucified and ascended to heaven. That means he had less than three years to prepare his disciples (not always the sharpest knives in the drawer) to carry on the greatest mission this world has ever known. Jesus must have understood something about priorities and time management. It would help us all to listen to his great advice on priorities. Jesus said, "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you". Oh, by the way, the next thing He said was "therefore do not worry about tomorrow".

Pause

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 26:10)
One translation of that great Psalm reads "Pause awhile, and know that I am God". Hit the pause button today and determine to know God and know that God is God. The German theologian Karl Rahner wrote "Some things are understood not by grasping but by allowing oneself to be grasped". Of course that requires us to be still. It requires us to release ourselves - our worries and trust God.

Luggage wheels

Luggage wheels. What is the greatest invention in recent years? Luggage wheels rank pretty high for me. Perhaps it is a reflection of just how much we tend to pack when we go on vacation. But, luggage wheels are awesome. Typically, we have three suitcases: each about the size of a baby elephant. With wheels it's a piece of cake. Of course, I have to fight my "man pride" that tries to convince me that I should carry the luggage even though they are equipped with wheels. This is not unrelated to our tendencies to worry. John Piper says the struggle of followers of Christ is "not a struggle to carry a burden, but a struggle to let a burden be carried for us". Jesus has invited us to find rest in Him. He has invited us to "cast our cares upon Him". Why not?

Are you worried?

Well, I'm still pondering about what it means to win over worry. It is a subject that I will return to again and again. Psalm 73 has been a favorite of mine for a long time. The Psalm starts out with a vivid description of a worried soul. In the end the Psalm is resolved with some powerful encouragement. It is encouragement that comes from a trip to the "sanctuary" of God.

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever...But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works.
Psalm 73:25-28

Back in the Saddle

Hey, vacation's over. That means I will be sharing a message at Heritage tomorrow. I'm looking forward to sharing a message that is very personal to me. It's about "winning over worry". Unfortunately, I can draw from a deep well of experience when it comes to worry. The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount are a little hard to swallow. His words "do not worry" are pretty easy for me to understand. Yet, I have invested a lot of my time and energy worrying. In the end, Jesus characterizes worry as a result of "puny faith" (Matthew 6:30). That hurts! I will spend quite a bit of time this week pondering the relationship between the strength of my faith in Christ and my tendency to worry. I can't help but think that the strength of my trust in someone usually depends on how well I know them. If this is true with Jesus then winning over worry will require us to know Him better.

Vacation Time

To blog or not to blog...that is the question. Here I am at a mall in Orlando in an Apple store logged into a computer thinking about giving a little blog time. Oh well, decision made. See you next week.