The Starting Point

We can probably spot traces of worry in our own lives.

Worries reveal an overconcern about our selves. These problems, as bad as they may be, are not the root issue though. We hope to discuss this at some later point.

Not an endpoint: We must not let worry be a regular part of our lives. Worldly worries focus on needs of our daily life. You know, what people worry over: who they marry, where they will work, how they look, how short they are, how they are accepted by others, grades, their performance, etc. The modern world finds worry troublesome but normal.

Three experts, Greist, Jefferson, and Marks, say,

"It is natural to feel worried by major examinations in school, family illnesses, job or business pressures, or difficulties in personal relationships. Such anxiety prepares us for action so that we can cope with the problem appropriately."

*Worry*	*Anxiety*
Preoccupation with one's own welfare.	A state of unresolved concern for some aspect of my life.

Jesus has given us a wonderful example how the most terrible circumstances can be rightly endured. Jesus told us to stop worrying When I worry, I just can't love. because we simply cannot love others when we focus on our own needs.

Jesus lifts His people up to a radically higher standard which brings many extra blessings into our lives. As long as one is living with worry, he can never be the person God intended him to be. If a person is focused on his success, then he will always miss out on the way he is to love another. Worry is preoccupation about some matter to the point that we are restless in our souls. Worry is the opposite of peace.

We cannot be genuinely compassionate if we are worrying. Two reasons for this.

#1 We are focused on the circumstances rather than the person.

#2 We are not very helpful. We lack the peace and calm needed. We can't hear what God is saying.

Jesus faced many difficult questions. Remember the Pharisees testing Him with a hard question. He was calm because the Father would give Him wisdom. Remember the hungry crowds after a long day of teaching? Jesus didn't focus on the impossibility of the situation but calmly discerned that the Father wanted to physically feed them all! And the Father did provide through some loaves and a few tiny fish.