Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 6:25-34
August 30, 2009
“Jesus’ Stress Solution, Part 2”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
A little boy went to the grocery store and asked the clerk for a bottle of detergent. The clerk asked the boy why he needed the detergent. “I want to wash my dog,” said the boy. “Well son, this detergent is pretty strong for washing a little dog.” The boy replied, “That’s what I want. He’s a mighty dirty dog!” So the boy took the detergent home, and about a week later he came back to the store. The clerk recognized him and asked about his dog. “Oh, my dog died,” said the boy. “I’m sorry,” replied the clerk. “I guess the detergent was too strong?” “I don’t think it was the detergent that hurt him,” said the boy. “I think it was the spin cycle.”
Many of us feel like we’re in the spin cycle, don’t we? Many of us feel like our lives are spinning out of control. That’s why we are smack dab in the middle of a sermon series on solutions to stress. Last week we looked at a story in the Gospel of Mark to learn how Jesus dealt with stressful situations, and as a review - our instructions for this past week were to:
Make and take time to take a step back from responsibilities to get some perspective,
accept the truth that no one is indispensable,
accept the truth that no one is invincible (we all have limits to our energy levels), because:
Resting and recharging are absolutely necessary if we’re going to be any good to God, to each other, and to ourselves.
How many of you took a little time this past week to follow these instructions? How many of you are still in the spin cycle?
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, comforter, keeper, and friend, help us learn your ways, follow your ways, and teach your ways by word and deed. Help us learn to rest in you and release our hold on that which is not ours to carry. Holy Spirit, come and fill us anew with your renewing life. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Last week we established that Jesus had more stress producing events in his life than any of us have ever experienced. Jesus understands the ongoing battle with stress. We also established that every event in life (whether it is pleasant or unpleasant) is a stress-producing event (even a vacation can be/is stressful). Every change brings stress – and if there is one thing that you can count on in life, it is that things are always changing. Therefore, stress in our lives is continuous.
Last week I read a list of life events that can help us assess the number of major stressors in our lives. It seemed that everyone in the congregation had at least two that applied to their lives, and most of us had 6 or more over a two-year period. Stress is part of life; it always has been, and always will be, no matter how old you are, young you are, healthy, sick, rich, poor, boy, girl, on the go, or sedentary. Everyone experiences stress – even babies. You know how babies throw out their arms by instinct if they are moved a certain way? It’s odd, because in most cases they have never been dropped, and yet they fear it by instinct. Is this stressful for them? You bet. If a baby is hungry and the bottle isn’t in his/her mouth, that’s stress producing. Everyone experiences stress from the cradle to the dying days.
One of the most important things I came to understand better through studying this text is that when we allow the stress to pile up, it takes us from a place of communion with God to a place of spiritual dryness. We stop trusting God with outcomes, and start acting as if everything depends on us. It’s a vicious spin cycle that wrings the Living Water right out of us!
Through the telling of the “storm story”, the disciples show us what it looks like to be stuck in the spin cycle. “Don’t you care that we are perishing, Jesus?” Jesus, on the other hand, shows us the importance of recognizing our limits and taking “time out” to rest. Where would you rather be?
Today, we’re going to look at another way to attract stress (other than trying to do it all and be everything for everyone). Here we go:
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
The word worry comes from the Old High German, wurgen, meaning “to strangle,” or “to constrict.” That’s what a life of worry does to a person: it makes you feel like you can’t breathe. Worry takes many people to recurring panic attacks – you feel like someone is literally choking the life out of you - and that’s exactly what it is doing!
Jesus came to give us LIFE, and ABUNDANT LIFE at that! (John 10:10) And yet, many who say they are Christians sit around thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong today, tomorrow, next month, next year, little by little choking the life out of the gift of this day, right here, right now.
While in the hospital this past week, I was asked to visit the brother of someone I ran into in the elevator. The patient was a man in great physical condition, mid-forties, who worked hard every day, and who all of a sudden was unable to walk. He could move his legs, but they were slightly numb, and he could not put weight on them. Talk about stressful!
When I went to see him, he was shaken to the core. We talked together about the Lord, and the power of his presence with this man in this time of trial. He started asking questions like, “Where am I going to live if I can’t walk?” “Who is going to take care of me?” “What will I do for a job if I lose the one I have, “ “How will I pay my bills,” etc., etc., etc. Together, we talked about the importance of staying with the troubles and blessings of today and resisting the temptation (from the devil) to worry about tomorrow. Remember, the devil comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10 again!). Of course, he tempts you to worry about tomorrow, because then he is able to steal, kill, and destroy the life-giving possibilities for today.
A Christian who is strong in the Lord and in his mighty power is committed and able to take a stand against the devil and resist the temptation to worry about tomorrow – and this is soooooo important for all the people outside the church who are searching for real peace. If you say you’re a Christian, and all you seem to do is wring your hands in worry, what kind of attraction does your life in Christ present to anyone?
May I show you how it works?
(Reader: At this point, I am going to have a paper towel tube in my hand with no paper towels on it.)
The “naked” tube represents the mind, free from worry, settled in faith. But let’s say, something begins to emerge as a stressor in your life. Since school is just starting, let’s focus there (but you could use any concern to make this point.)
Let’s say you have a child just starting school. The thought pops into your mind, “What if he doesn’t like school?” This thought can easily attach itself to your mind and you start thinking about over and over until it begins to wrap itself around your mind (I’m wrapping a piece of paper towel around the tube) and begins to affect how you’re thinking about nearly everything. The thing about worrying is that once you start worrying about one thing, it expands to the next thing, to the next thing, and all of a sudden your mind is completely wrapped up in “what ifs,” some of which have absolutely nothing to do with the original concern of Johnny not liking school.
What if he doesn’t like school?
What if he doesn’t get along with the teacher?
What if he gets sick and is too afraid to tell the teacher, and then throws up all over his desk?
Then all the kids will make fun of him.
They’ll stay away from him. He’ll be an outcast.
All year long he’ll be that kid who stunk up the classroom.
What if he refuses to go to school – and throws fits in the morning?
What if he starts having nightmares?
No one will be able to sleep in the house,
everyone will be yelling at each other,
my husband will probably be late for work,
he might even lose his job, then we’ll lose our home, and …
How ridiculous! But this is exactly what happens! Our lives become strangled by a lack of trust in God’s promises.
But here is what Jesus instructs: Give it to him! Pass it off to him. You have an original thought, “What if my child doesn’t like school?” Take that thought to the Lord and stand with him in faith. “Jesus, I’m worried about Jane going to school. I know that you have gone before her, and I know that you will be with her all the way. Show me how to support her here at home in a way that helps her be the best she can be at school. And when she has hard times, help me to teach her how to call on you as the one who is with her always. Thank you, Lord. Amen.” This way, your mind stays free and clear, able to hear from God, and able to communicate out of faith, not out of fear.
Now listen, all of us have things that are worrying to us. All of us are dealing with fears & doubts all the time. All the time. We need to take these things to the Lord, and we need to trust each other enough to talk about them & pray about them together. When someone is stressed out with worry and won’t share the concern with someone else, personally, I think it is prideful and borders on idolatry. The whole “I don’t want to bother anyone” is self-indulgent pity that is like a disease within the body.
The church was called into being to be Jesus in the world – Jesus to each other and Jesus to the lost. And if we want to be a healthy church, then we have to step out in faith and learn to trust one another enough to share our troubles without concern that “it’ll be all over the valley by sundown,” or that someone else will be over-burdened by what you shared. A healthy Christian takes someone else’s concerns directly to the Lord. None of us should be walking around all stressed out because of someone else’s worries! We have been called together to help each other – to share the things that are trying to trap our minds in fear and offer them to the Lord in gratitude for his care in the past and his promises for the future. Let’s not be the wrapped up tube – let’s be free to trust God and trust one another as we journey together in faith.
To drive this point home, Nicole Parker is going to share a testimony with us about a very stressful time in her life this summer, and how the Lord helped her keep walking in faith while on mission with World Harvest Mission.
August 30, 2009
“Jesus’ Stress Solution, Part 2”
Rev. Meagan M. Boozer
A little boy went to the grocery store and asked the clerk for a bottle of detergent. The clerk asked the boy why he needed the detergent. “I want to wash my dog,” said the boy. “Well son, this detergent is pretty strong for washing a little dog.” The boy replied, “That’s what I want. He’s a mighty dirty dog!” So the boy took the detergent home, and about a week later he came back to the store. The clerk recognized him and asked about his dog. “Oh, my dog died,” said the boy. “I’m sorry,” replied the clerk. “I guess the detergent was too strong?” “I don’t think it was the detergent that hurt him,” said the boy. “I think it was the spin cycle.”
Many of us feel like we’re in the spin cycle, don’t we? Many of us feel like our lives are spinning out of control. That’s why we are smack dab in the middle of a sermon series on solutions to stress. Last week we looked at a story in the Gospel of Mark to learn how Jesus dealt with stressful situations, and as a review - our instructions for this past week were to:
Make and take time to take a step back from responsibilities to get some perspective,
accept the truth that no one is indispensable,
accept the truth that no one is invincible (we all have limits to our energy levels), because:
Resting and recharging are absolutely necessary if we’re going to be any good to God, to each other, and to ourselves.
How many of you took a little time this past week to follow these instructions? How many of you are still in the spin cycle?
Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, comforter, keeper, and friend, help us learn your ways, follow your ways, and teach your ways by word and deed. Help us learn to rest in you and release our hold on that which is not ours to carry. Holy Spirit, come and fill us anew with your renewing life. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Last week we established that Jesus had more stress producing events in his life than any of us have ever experienced. Jesus understands the ongoing battle with stress. We also established that every event in life (whether it is pleasant or unpleasant) is a stress-producing event (even a vacation can be/is stressful). Every change brings stress – and if there is one thing that you can count on in life, it is that things are always changing. Therefore, stress in our lives is continuous.
Last week I read a list of life events that can help us assess the number of major stressors in our lives. It seemed that everyone in the congregation had at least two that applied to their lives, and most of us had 6 or more over a two-year period. Stress is part of life; it always has been, and always will be, no matter how old you are, young you are, healthy, sick, rich, poor, boy, girl, on the go, or sedentary. Everyone experiences stress – even babies. You know how babies throw out their arms by instinct if they are moved a certain way? It’s odd, because in most cases they have never been dropped, and yet they fear it by instinct. Is this stressful for them? You bet. If a baby is hungry and the bottle isn’t in his/her mouth, that’s stress producing. Everyone experiences stress from the cradle to the dying days.
One of the most important things I came to understand better through studying this text is that when we allow the stress to pile up, it takes us from a place of communion with God to a place of spiritual dryness. We stop trusting God with outcomes, and start acting as if everything depends on us. It’s a vicious spin cycle that wrings the Living Water right out of us!
Through the telling of the “storm story”, the disciples show us what it looks like to be stuck in the spin cycle. “Don’t you care that we are perishing, Jesus?” Jesus, on the other hand, shows us the importance of recognizing our limits and taking “time out” to rest. Where would you rather be?
Today, we’re going to look at another way to attract stress (other than trying to do it all and be everything for everyone). Here we go:
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
The word worry comes from the Old High German, wurgen, meaning “to strangle,” or “to constrict.” That’s what a life of worry does to a person: it makes you feel like you can’t breathe. Worry takes many people to recurring panic attacks – you feel like someone is literally choking the life out of you - and that’s exactly what it is doing!
Jesus came to give us LIFE, and ABUNDANT LIFE at that! (John 10:10) And yet, many who say they are Christians sit around thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong today, tomorrow, next month, next year, little by little choking the life out of the gift of this day, right here, right now.
While in the hospital this past week, I was asked to visit the brother of someone I ran into in the elevator. The patient was a man in great physical condition, mid-forties, who worked hard every day, and who all of a sudden was unable to walk. He could move his legs, but they were slightly numb, and he could not put weight on them. Talk about stressful!
When I went to see him, he was shaken to the core. We talked together about the Lord, and the power of his presence with this man in this time of trial. He started asking questions like, “Where am I going to live if I can’t walk?” “Who is going to take care of me?” “What will I do for a job if I lose the one I have, “ “How will I pay my bills,” etc., etc., etc. Together, we talked about the importance of staying with the troubles and blessings of today and resisting the temptation (from the devil) to worry about tomorrow. Remember, the devil comes only to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10 again!). Of course, he tempts you to worry about tomorrow, because then he is able to steal, kill, and destroy the life-giving possibilities for today.
A Christian who is strong in the Lord and in his mighty power is committed and able to take a stand against the devil and resist the temptation to worry about tomorrow – and this is soooooo important for all the people outside the church who are searching for real peace. If you say you’re a Christian, and all you seem to do is wring your hands in worry, what kind of attraction does your life in Christ present to anyone?
May I show you how it works?
(Reader: At this point, I am going to have a paper towel tube in my hand with no paper towels on it.)
The “naked” tube represents the mind, free from worry, settled in faith. But let’s say, something begins to emerge as a stressor in your life. Since school is just starting, let’s focus there (but you could use any concern to make this point.)
Let’s say you have a child just starting school. The thought pops into your mind, “What if he doesn’t like school?” This thought can easily attach itself to your mind and you start thinking about over and over until it begins to wrap itself around your mind (I’m wrapping a piece of paper towel around the tube) and begins to affect how you’re thinking about nearly everything. The thing about worrying is that once you start worrying about one thing, it expands to the next thing, to the next thing, and all of a sudden your mind is completely wrapped up in “what ifs,” some of which have absolutely nothing to do with the original concern of Johnny not liking school.
What if he doesn’t like school?
What if he doesn’t get along with the teacher?
What if he gets sick and is too afraid to tell the teacher, and then throws up all over his desk?
Then all the kids will make fun of him.
They’ll stay away from him. He’ll be an outcast.
All year long he’ll be that kid who stunk up the classroom.
What if he refuses to go to school – and throws fits in the morning?
What if he starts having nightmares?
No one will be able to sleep in the house,
everyone will be yelling at each other,
my husband will probably be late for work,
he might even lose his job, then we’ll lose our home, and …
How ridiculous! But this is exactly what happens! Our lives become strangled by a lack of trust in God’s promises.
But here is what Jesus instructs: Give it to him! Pass it off to him. You have an original thought, “What if my child doesn’t like school?” Take that thought to the Lord and stand with him in faith. “Jesus, I’m worried about Jane going to school. I know that you have gone before her, and I know that you will be with her all the way. Show me how to support her here at home in a way that helps her be the best she can be at school. And when she has hard times, help me to teach her how to call on you as the one who is with her always. Thank you, Lord. Amen.” This way, your mind stays free and clear, able to hear from God, and able to communicate out of faith, not out of fear.
Now listen, all of us have things that are worrying to us. All of us are dealing with fears & doubts all the time. All the time. We need to take these things to the Lord, and we need to trust each other enough to talk about them & pray about them together. When someone is stressed out with worry and won’t share the concern with someone else, personally, I think it is prideful and borders on idolatry. The whole “I don’t want to bother anyone” is self-indulgent pity that is like a disease within the body.
The church was called into being to be Jesus in the world – Jesus to each other and Jesus to the lost. And if we want to be a healthy church, then we have to step out in faith and learn to trust one another enough to share our troubles without concern that “it’ll be all over the valley by sundown,” or that someone else will be over-burdened by what you shared. A healthy Christian takes someone else’s concerns directly to the Lord. None of us should be walking around all stressed out because of someone else’s worries! We have been called together to help each other – to share the things that are trying to trap our minds in fear and offer them to the Lord in gratitude for his care in the past and his promises for the future. Let’s not be the wrapped up tube – let’s be free to trust God and trust one another as we journey together in faith.
To drive this point home, Nicole Parker is going to share a testimony with us about a very stressful time in her life this summer, and how the Lord helped her keep walking in faith while on mission with World Harvest Mission.
