Overcoming Worries || Being Pulled Apart || Week 2

Welcome back to our “Being Pulled Apart” series! We’re looking at four stories in scripture that talk about being anxious or the Greek word merimnaó. Through the word study we did on this Greek word, we were able to understand being anxious as the following: Being anxious (merimnaó) means to have our worries, concerns, and anxieties (merimna) pulled apart (merizó) into many different directions (meros). If you missed the word study portion, read last week’s blog because it was awesome!

Last week, we looked at being anxious from the perspective of worries and fears. We discussed what these things can do to our lives and how we can overcome them. We also mentioned ways to obey God and how we can trust God in our plans alongside his own. 

This week, we will hear a similar story we read last week. Jesus is sharing the same message, but it comes from Luke. Luke is writing to the Gentiles, or the non-Jewish, audience. Our focus will be primarily on worry today. We’ll discuss how to avoid it, what it does to our minds, and how to overcome it.

Our scripture story for today is Luke 12:22-34. Here’s what it says:

22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. 

23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. 

24 Look at the ravens. They don’t plan or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds!

25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

26 And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? 

27 “Look at the lilies 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. 

28 And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? 

29 “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. 

30 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. 

31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 

32 “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. 

33 “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. 

34 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 

See the similarities? It’s interesting to note the things that are the same and the things that are different. I’ve thought about doing that as a series. Comparing and contrasting certain teachings or parables taught across multiple Gospels and seeing what is the same and what’s not. If that’s something you’d like to see, let me know. 

Worry is the focus again. We seek the Greek word for being anxious, showing up three times in this passage and all at the beginning. The closing section of this passage is different compared to the Matthew passage. Jesus doesn’t remind us to only focus on today’s worries. Jesus tells the Gentiles this in Luke 12:31

31 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need. 

This is how we should focus on today’s worries. Seek God’s Kingdom above all else. It’s not seeking food, shelter, clothes, likes, or friends. Seek God’s Kingdom first and foremost, then God will give us everything we need. There are terms in this verse that I want to do a word study on: Seek, give, and need. It could be the same understanding of how we use these words today. Still, the Bible has often shown me a deeper understanding of these things that never would’ve come to mind. Hence why, “God’s thoughts are deeper than my own.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

To seek is the Greek word zéteó (dzay-teh’-o), which means to seek by inquiring, to investigate to reach a binding/terminal resolution. It’s essentially saying, “I’m getting to the bottom of this.” This is more powerful to me than just “seeking.” It’s an investigation. We will do a lot of research on it, ask questions about it, and find the answers to it. It’s something that I must initiate. It’s something that I must put effort and energy into. There’s a lot of personalization into this. Overall, I point this out to show the intentionality and the personal investment it should take to figure out our role in the Kingdom of God. 

To give is the Greek word prostithémi (pros-tith’-ay-mee), which means to put to or add. It’s a compound Greek word. It pros (pros) which mean to motion towards or interface with. It says, “I’m moving toward a goal or destination.” It’s also tithémi (tith’-ay-mee) which means to place, lay or set. Let’s put this together: moving towards the destination or goal before us and placing, laying, or setting something there. God’s giving this to us. God intentionally interacts with humanity and gives us everything we need. It’s personal. Let’s combine this with what we talked about earlier. Let’s intentionally investigate and seek personal answers about our role in the Kingdom of God. God will come to us and give us everything we need. We’re seeing the interaction between God and us. We’re seeing the relationship being built that Jesus hoped for. We’re seeing the relationship that Jesus died for. 

A need is a Greek word, or Greek words in this context: houtos, hauté, touto (hoo’-tos), which means “this.” That’s it. It means the pronoun “this.” It’s a general Greek term, but we can gauge by the context of this passage that it’s a reference to our needs. It’s even the same exact word used in the Matthew 6 passage, which further reinforces the reference to our needs. Yet what are our needs? What is the Bible telling us here? I want a specific answer, yet I believe Jesus left it vague because our needs include all needs. No matter our needs, we must seek the Kingdom of God. We must investigate the biblical answers and foundations to our needs first and foremost. God will interact with us by supplying this need when we do that. Some people might be frustrated because God won’t interact with them when they go to them with their needs. Still, it may be a case of if it’s genuinely a need you’re taking to God or something you desperately want. Sorry to throw that out there, but I only call you out because I know I’m calling myself out too. 

So, if we investigate our needs through the Kingdom of God first and foremost to get the answers we need, God will come and interact with us to supply that need. Great! Now how does this work with our anxiety? Let’s get into that. 

What does it mean to ask God to remove the worry? It means to trust him, and I mean deeply trust him. When we lean on what God’s care means for us and trust in it confidently, we can lessen and remove the anxiety. Think of it this way: Working and planning things responsibly is good, but dwelling on how our planning can go wrong is not good. Investing in our relationships is excellent, but worrying about how we can damage or have damaged them is not great. It’s us doing the work and trusting God with the results. It’s not us doing the work and worrying about the results. It’s not easy because of our innate desire to control things. It’s worth it, though. 

Worrying doesn’t solve tomorrow’s problems. Worrying about how we will overcome tomorrow’s problems at work or our busy schedules at home isn’t solving anything. All it’s doing is destroying our peace of mind today. Worry does two things: it takes our focus off our priorities today (which can have its own consequences). It causes stress about things that aren’t in our present moment. It’s pointless. Worry doesn’t do anything for us except one thing. Worry tells us what we need to talk to God about. Worry tells us what our priorities are and how we need to take those to God to ensure we can accomplish those priorities in ways that align with his plans and give him the glory he deserves. The creator of the universe loves us and knows what we need. We’ve learned that if we intentionally investigate the answers to our problems through the Kingdom of God first and foremost, God will supply our needs. God knows what we need and loves us dearly. Yet, he encourages us to go out and search for these answers. So, what are those answers for how we overcome worry? I have four of them to share with you: 

Overcoming worry requires trusting our heavenly Father’s care for us. It’s a SIMPLE trust. I often overcomplicate things because the SIMPLE answers or ways of doing things feel wrong. Trusting that God will care for me feels too simple to believe wholeheartedly. Still, the simple answer is often the correct one. This trust comes from our expression of prayer. It’s going to him when we’re worried about something instead of holding the worry ourselves. It’s deciding to share it with him because we know that God will take care of us. It comes from the reason we’d share our worries with our best friend or a counselor. We share these burdens with others to lift them off our spirit and allow someone to offer advice, solutions, and overall love and care. It is fortunately that simple. 

Overcoming worry requires a new perspective on our problems. This isn’t easy. It’s been a complicated process, and I’m not perfect at it. From my experience, this process involves looking at our problems without the impact of our emotions. In my experience, our emotions often distort our problems and show us an exaggerated version of what we’re dealing with. This isn’t to say that our emotions should be invalid because our emotions should play a part in things, but our emotions result from worry. If they’re a result, then they aren’t the actual problem. They can add to the problem but aren’t the actual problem. When we can peel back the layers and look at the depth of the actual problem and all the residing side effects, we can share these problems with God and develop a good strategy for addressing and correcting our problems rather than just worrying about them. The problems we often deal with aren’t new. They are problems that have existed in the world for many years. The circumstances are unique to us and make it feel that no one will understand. Because our problems exist worldwide, the answers can be found through our research, planning, counsel, and more. Remember, it should all come from God’s guidance first and foremost.

Overcoming worry requires a support team to help. I’ve said that God didn’t create us to do life alone. God wants us to be involved in a community, whether that be a church, a friend group, a support group, a family system, or whatever that is for you. We will need a support team to get through our worries and anxieties. I know it’s taken 25-30 people to walk alongside me to help with my anxieties. It’s probably bigger, but I think of those who’ve heard my problems, offered wise counsel, and wrestled with my uncomfortable conversations. These people offered strength when I was weak, comfort when hurt, and love when all I felt was hate. God provided these people in my life at the time needed, and the relationships that have blossomed through there have been a blessing beyond words. God can provide these people for you. Ask God to help point you in the direction of those people that can help you. 

Overcoming worry sometimes requires professional help. I will always advocate for people seeking the mental health help they need. The stigma of mental health needs to be removed from the Christian world because of the harm it’s caused to previous generations and the harm it’s doing to our current and future generations. Seeking help doesn’t mean you’re a bad Christian or are going against God. There are plenty of Christian counselors and therapists out there. God often called on these people to fulfill that role in speaking life into those that need them. I say “often” because I know there are outliers. Sometimes our worries are bigger than reframing them and getting support from our team. Sometimes we need to see a specialist to look at our problems to gain their perspective, gain their support, and have another person to trust in. God’s placed them in your path for a reason, and you probably have prayed for God to answer your problems. It’s time to listen.

Let’s wrap that up here. Today, we talked about how to intentionally investigate the Kingdom of God first and foremost. We learned that if we do that, then God will come and personally interact with us to supply our needs. Then we learned four ways to overcome worry: simply trust that God will care for us, get a new perspective on our problems, find a support team, and, if needed, seek professional help. Next week, we will jump to 1 Corinthians to talk about the gifts God gives us and how we can help others with those gifts. Until then, stay blessed.