Boss – The God of Worry

Read Exodus 2:1-3

It’s been thousands of years since God gave Moses the Ten Commandments. Maybe it seems like something written so long ago that it couldn’t possibly still be relevant to us today. But here’s the thing: thousands of years ago, last week, and today, the God of the Universe continues to remind us that we are to have no other gods—no idols—before Him.

At first glance, worry may not seem as threatening or dangerous as the god of me or the god of stuff. But worry can dominate your life if you don’t know how to handle it. It’s so easy to let worry become “the boss of you.” But here’s the good news: it isn’t news to God that we all struggle with the god of worry. He knows. And even better, He’s even given us exactly what we need to defeat it.

Let’s fast forward a couple of thousand years or so after the Exodus story. We just read about God giving this command (“Have no other gods before Me”) to the Israelites. Now let’s look at what Jesus has to say about the false god we’re talking about today. We’re about to read what is probably the greatest sermon ever preached. It’s often called The Sermon on the Mount.Read Matthew 6:25-34

Jesus names some things I think we’ve all worried about from time to time. We worry, Jesus said, about our lives, our safety, and our image, for starters. Here’s what else He shows us:

Worry steals your focus. (Matthew 6:25-27)
Worry takes our focus off of what God can do and focuses it on what we can do (which is very little). Have you ever seen a bird grow their own food? Of course not! No bird has ever done a thing to make, grow, or earn the worms and seeds and fruits they eat. They simply reap the benefit of God’s goodness and provision . . . and aren’t you more important, valuable, and cherished than a bird?

Worry focuses on you. (Matthew 6:28-30)
We worry about our image way too much—what we look like, what we wear, what others think about us. But have you ever seen a lily? They’re amazing. But a lily doesn’t sit in a field and think, “Wow, I look amazing,” or “Am I better than that other lily over there?” A flower is beautiful, yet completely unaware and not worried about its own image.

Worry makes you conform. (Matthew 6:31-32)
As a follower of Jesus, we’re called to think, act, and be different. But worrying is easy. Worrying is what everyone does. And when we conform to the worries of this world, we’re focused on what we can do, not what God can do. We are called to something much better. We’re not called to conform, we’re called to stand out.

These words from Jesus are words of comfort and hope. Yes, worry can consume us. Yes, it can sometimes feel like there is no escaping the fears and anxieties that control us. But worry is just another idol that God has told us to cast aside. And, remember, He’s given us everything we need to do that—He’s given us Himself.

This week, it’s my prayer for you that you would allow God to help you defeat the idol of worry in your life—that you would seek Him first and see how focusing on Jesus starts to make those worries grow just a little bit dimmer.