Avoiding Half-Minded Living!
Every person has baggage and so far I have not met one person who likes their baggage. Everyone wants a place to check their bags. They all want a place to lie down and rest and put their cares aside for a while. Today we are going to look at a form of baggage that nearly every person deals with. Some of us are worse about it than others, but for the most part we all have this baggage. Now, if I told you that I knew the way for you to lay down your baggage, would you be interested? Well good, because I know how to lay aside our baggage.
Many times you will hear people say things like, “But what if my spouse dies? I don’t think I can handle that? What if I marry someone who snores? What if I’m not a good parent? What if I’m not raising my kid’s right? When my kids leave and go to college, what if they don’t make good decisions? What about next month’s bills? I’m already behind. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make all the payments.” This is known as the baggage of worry, and we all have it. We all worry at different levels. For some of us it’s the big things in life and for some of us it’s the little things that we barely notice. And yet, we all worry about something.
Unfortunately the Bible doesn’t speak on worry very many times. The word worry only appears in 9 verses in the Bible and another word the Bible uses for worry, anxiety, only appears 7 times. So there isn’t a lot of talk about worry or anxiety in the Bible, but we do have some very interesting insights into what God thinks about worry in the Bible. For instance, the biblical word for worry is merimnao. This word is a combination of 2 other Greek words, the words merizo, which means “to divide”, and nous, which means “the mind.” So the biblical word worry means “to divide the mind.” What happens when we worry in life is that we try to live in the future so much, that we aren’t even fully living in the present. The result of worry is simply half-minded living. We aren’t able to make good decisions for today, because our mind is already onto tomorrow. This as you might expect, is not healthy for us and God doesn’t want us to have to live this way.
Another problem with worry, or anxiety, is that it can cause many diseases. Maybe you didn’t know this, but worry or anxiety, is linked to many diseases and health risks in our lives. For instance, worry is linked to high blood pressure, heart problems, blindness, migraine headaches, thyroid malfunctions, stomach disorders and even sleeplessness. You see, not only do we not live our lives to the fullest, but we also make ourselves sick. Worrying is an expensive habit to have.
It was some time after the events of September 11th, that I had to fly again. I am not the world’s biggest fan of flying, it does make me slightly nervous. After Sep. 11th, it made me even more nervous. Before that flight I was worried during the weeks leading up to my flight. I worried myself with thoughts like, “What if one of the engines goes out? What if when I’m in line the police decide to check me out a little more closely? What if there aren’t any peanuts on the flight?” I was worried sick about this flight. My biggest worry was that the security guards were doing those random checks. They would pull aside random people and search them more closely than everyone else. Now, I had nothing to hide. I knew that I wasn’t a terrorist, I had nothing to hide from them, but I worried anyway. “What if they found something that they didn’t like? What if I had something in my pocket that they thought was a weapon, but I tried to explain to them it wasn’t and they didn’t believe me?” I was really worried about the security check. The day arrived for my flight and I was waiting in line to have my bags scanned and walk through the metal detector. I walked through and everything was fine, but then one of the guards took his hand and motioned me over to a special place behind a wall. I had been randomly selected for a check. My heart started racing, I was so nervous. My worst fears were coming true. I didn’t want to act nervous because I didn’t want him to think I was acting funny, so I stayed as still as possible. After they did their search of my shoes and my pockets, they let me go. I waited for the flight to board, the plane took off and I landed safely. Everything was fine. What’s the point? My worrying for weeks and months ahead of time didn’t change a thing for me at the airport. My worrying did nothing to help me at the airport; it just made me sick ahead of time.
There is an example in the Bible of a man who was pretty worried about one of his friends. His name was King Darius. The background of the story is that Daniel was one of 3 commissioners in the land above 120 satraps. King Darius was the only man in the Kingdom above Daniel and the other commissioners. Unfortunately, some of the king’s men weren’t very happy with Daniel because the king was about to appoint him above the entire kingdom and above all of them as well. So they brainstormed and came up with a way to get rid of Daniel. They tricked Darius into making a law that stated no one could pray to anybody but the king. The punishment for breaking this law was to be thrown into the lion’s den. When Daniel heard that the law had been signed, the first thing he did was went up into his house and spent time in prayer to God. The men reported back to Darius with gladness that Daniel had broken the law. Unable to break his own rule, King Darius had Daniel arrested and thrown into the lion’s den.
Let’s catch up with the story here in Daniel 6:16 (read). Do you notice the confidence that Darius has that Daniel’s God will deliver him from the mouth of the lions? Darius had seen Daniel work and there was something special about him. Something that made him stand out above all the other leaders in the kingdom. It was the fact that he put God first. This is why Darius wanted to appoint him over the whole kingdom in the first place. At first glance in v. 16, we get the impression that Darius is confident and strong. He knows for a fact that God will deliver Daniel and so he has no problem throwing him in the lion’s den. Let’s keep reading though, v. 17-18 (read). Here is King Darius as worried as can be for the life of Daniel. Look at the effects that happen to him that we had talked about earlier. First it says he “fasted.” One commentator puts it this way, “The great anxiety of the king, however, on account of what had occurred, prevented him from participating in the usual evening meal.” He goes on to sum up, because of that great anxiety, “there is a satisfactory reason for the facts stated that he had no desire for food.” King Darius is so worried about Daniel that he can’t even eat. Sounds like a stomach disorder to me. Then it even says in v. 18 that, “no entertainment was brought before him.” For those of you who worry a lot, how many of you when you are in a state of deep anxiety like it when people crack jokes around you? How many of you like to call your friends over and have them crack jokes and throw you a party when you are worried about something? Most people don’t. When we are worried about something, that is where our thoughts are and we can hardly be distracted from it. Neither did King Darius. His normal forms of entertainment weren’t good enough tonight. Then it goes on to say, “His sleep fled from him.” Not only can’t he eat or even want entertainment, but he is also awake the whole night. One of the effects of someone who is worrying, or in a deep state of anxiety, is sleeplessness. When people are genuinely worried about something, most of them lose sleep. Some of you know what that’s like. I do. King Darius is experiencing a deep state of anxiety for his friend Daniel.
How many of you have been worried about something that you have gotten to the same point that King Darius is at? Now listen to what happens next. Let’s read verses 19-23 (read). Now the king asks if God was able to protect Daniel when the day before he said he “knew” that God would protect him. Daniel responds in v. 21 & 22. And look at the end of v. 23, the reason why Daniel was protected. Does it say, because Daniel was worried and tried to escape the den, he was saved? Nope, it says, “Because he had trusted in God.”
Would you like to know how to be free from worry? Allow me to read you a verse from the Message version of the Bible. It comes from the Sermon on the Mount, words spoken by Jesus Christ Himself. The verse is Matthew 6:34 (read). “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” I want you to notice the translation states, “When the time comes.” You see many of us say, “Well, if such and such happens, I won’t be able to handle it.” No, not right now you can’t, because you don’t have the strength today for what might happen tomorrow. Jesus tells us that when hard times come and things are rough, that is when God will give us what we need to get through those times. Don’t worry about the finances next month, when next month gets here, God will provide. Don’t worry about the kids college decisions 10 years in advance. When they make those decisions, God will give you the strength and wisdom to deal with it then. You see, that worry will make us live half in the future and miss part of today if we aren’t careful.
The other night I had a dream that one of my boys was choking on something. In my dream Misty was yelling, “Stan! Stan! Come here quick!” I went running into the house in my dream and that’s when I woke up. I sat straight up in bed and looked around. Everyone was sound asleep except for me. Worrying even in my sleep about something like that, won’t make it not happen the very next day. So what did I do? I went back to sleep. It wouldn’t do me any good to stay up and think about it. It won’t change anything. I also worry many times and have sleepless nights about the church. Not just our church, but the “church” in general. I worry that Christians aren’t getting it. I worry that we’re missing the point. I worry that I may not be doing a good job teaching people what the Bible says about being Christians. I worry that I’m not doing a good job at pastoring the church like I should. I worry about where the church will be in 5 years and whether or not we’ll be ready for it. Does my worrying change where we’ll be in 5 years? Nope. God says, “I will give you the strength and wisdom you need when you get there.” You and I don’t have strength for tomorrow, we only have strength for today. So we need to live in today, not half in today and half in tomorrow.
When we look at that phrase, “When the time comes,” I realize something else. God’s timing is perfect. It always has been and always will be. In the OT, God sent the Israelites manna. He told them only take what you need for today, because tomorrow I will provide what you need for tomorrow! If one of the Israelites took enough for 2 days when they weren’t supposed to, all they got was rotten manna. God wanted them to see that He would provide for them and they didn’t have to worry. Then in Gal. 4:4, we see that God’s timing is perfect once again. It says, “When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son.” I love that verse. When the timing was perfect, Christ came. You see, God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. He will give it to us at the right time and in the right proportion. We just need to trust God to do His job.
In the book of Luke, when Jesus is talking about worry in chapter 12, He concludes His sermon with this thought. Verse 31 says, “But seek His Kingdom and these things will be added to you.” When we are seeking God first, and not our own needs or selfish desires, all those things we worry about are taken care of. God knows us and knows what we need. When we seek Him, our needs are provided.
No more wondering, “What decisions will my kids make?” Why? Because when the time comes, God will give you the strength and help you need. No more worrying about, “How am I going to pay the bills?” Why? Because God is there and knows exactly what you need. Stop worrying. This is easier said than done, but if you worry about something, it won’t change the outcome in the future. If you worry about getting sicknesses, diseases or even dying, worrying won’t change what’s going to happen. Rather than worrying go to Hebrews 4:16 which says, “Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” When the time of need comes in your life, don’t worry, draw near to God. If you are wondering, “How do I beat this situation,” the answer is to draw near to God. Give you worry to God and allow Him to give you the help you need.
If you are carrying around the baggage of worry today, I’d like to encourage you by saying, “Everyone worries.” But there is a better way. If you want to, you can give your worries to God today. You can live with the strength He gives you for today and when tomorrow comes, use the strength he gives you then to make it through. Stop living a half-minded life. Start living a full life with God’s strength. Allow Him to be the One to get you through those tough times. Won’t you give your worry to God today?
