"What...Us Worry"
           May 25, 2008
   Dan Wilkie, TEI Graduate, Assistant Minister

Scriptures:     Isaiah 49:8-16a      Matthew 6:24-34

         “Don’t worry, be happy!”  How many times have we heard this line from Bobby McFerren’s famous song of the same name?  It really is a beautiful concept, yet for most of us worry is often a constant companion, because we live in a pretty uncertain world.

          Think about some of the things that impact our lives: health concerns, rising gas and food prices, dwindling resources, global warming, terrorism and on and on and on.  How can we not worry? 

          Yet we know that constant worry takes away from the quality of our lives and can impact our emotional and physical health.

          Think for a moment about something that you have been really worried about recently, not just the momentary worrisome things, but a really big thing.  What happened to your body?  Perhaps the issue kept you awake during the night, you probably noticed an increased heart rate, maybe you noticed your breathing increasing, or your muscles tensing up and putting extra strain on your neck, back and shoulder muscles.  Maybe this issue became so pervasive that you could think about nothing else and it began to interfere with your relationships with your partner, other family members or friends.  Perhaps this even isolated you from those support systems you need to deal with the situation in healthy ways, say your relationship with God, or your faith community.

          Now we know that this might be okay for a few hours, or even a day or two, because the flight and fight reactions of our bodies kick in and our thought processes become more acute .  Our senses heighten the things which can often help us make decisions in stressful situations.  However, if this continues over too long a period, it can lead to extreme stress, which has been linked to hypertension, heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and mental illness.

          Jesus, in his teachings from the Gospel of Matthew, understood how negatively stress impacts our lives in several ways, and he knew that God wants us to be happy, whole and healthy.  Jesus also knew that the life of faith we were being called to live was challenging, and that we would need all the emotional and physical strength we could manage to be able to do just that.  Truly, if we are so worried about the things around us to the point that it takes over our lives and our thoughts, we are isolating ourselves from God, and we cannot live the lives that God is calling us to live. 

          Some recent things I have learned seem to prove this to be true.  In the cardiac rehab class I have been attending since my heart attack in 2003 and my bypass surgery in 2005, we have had a chance to explore many things about heart disease.  One of the things that we have learned is that, according to the American Heart Association, heart patients with severe or chronic heart disease who have strong spiritual connections, a deep faith in God and who live deeply spiritual lives have fewer relapses.  They have fewer chronic pain issues, their blood pressure tends to be lower, they often require less medication, and suffer fewer instances of post-treatment depression compared to patients without these strong spiritual connections.

          Recently I read some interesting information from the American Cancer Society.  Cancer patients with strong spiritual connections have on an average better responses to treatment, they require less severe pain medication, go into remission in greater numbers, and tend to live longer with a greater quality of life than patients without these connections.

          Doctors in the American Psychiatric Association also report the same sorts of results with some of their patients who suffer from severe bipolar disorder and who are recovering and struggling to recover from severe addictive behaviors.  When they have strong faith backgrounds, strong spiritual connections, and a deep belief in God, in conjunction with talk therapy and properly administered medications, they tend to manage their symptoms and live healthier and more full lives than patients just undergoing talk therapy and medications alone.

          Now while these examples don’t point solely to the issue of worry itself, it does highlight the importance of a faith and spiritual connections in our lives, especially during difficult and challenging times. And I am sure that there are probably many more examples if one were to look for them. 

          So, I would ask, with so many examples, why would we want to alienate ourselves from our God and from our spiritual and faith connections?  Why would we not want more wholeness and health in our lives? 

          Now I would be naïve and somewhat disingenuous if I were to offer some sort of platitude like “just don’t worry,” but I know that it is not simply that easy, because there are just so many reasons to worry.  However, what I can offer is this knowledge: when we as believers in God’s grace seek to live spiritual, faith-filled and Christ-like lives, God does not desert us, or abandon us, as can be heard in the lesson from Isaiah.

Thus says the Lord, in a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages; saying to the prisoners, “Come Out,” to those who are in darkness “Show yourselves.”  They shall feed along the way, on all the bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.  And I will turn all my mountains into a road and my highways shall be raised up.  Lo, these shall come from far away, and lo, these from the north and from the west and from the land of Syene.  Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing!  For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his suffering ones.  But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.”  Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb?  Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. 

          So while we cannot stop worrying, it is important that it does not consume us, lest we lose the very grace of God, the connections that sustain us.

          So how do we do this, how do we focus our lives on God and spiritual things when we are consumed with the difficult issues of our lives?  We attend worship -- by sharing in liturgy and music, listening to the message, praying corporately for others and we get the support of other believers which nourishes our spiritual being.  We live lives of mission and ministry; when we care for others, the rewards we receive from their gratitude and warmth opens our own hearts, bringing us satisfaction and joy.  We share in fellowship -- when we share in fun things with others we find diversions that take our minds away from the struggles we face, and we often find support from others who are undergoing many of the same experiences.  We pray -- when we pray daily for our concerns and for the concerns of others we stay in touch with God, and that power is greater than ourselves and our own problems.  We continue to study the scriptures -- when we prayerfully study, new things are revealed to us, insights and lessons that can help us remain closer to God, learning things that help and strengthen our lives.

          And lastly and most important we need to listen to our bodies, the beautiful and wonderful miracles that God has given us.  When we find ourselves becoming obsessed with thoughts of dire things, when our breathing becomes labored, our muscles tighten, our heart races and we can’t sleep, it is the time to stop, take a deep breath, pray, remembering that God loves us and will not forsake us, and He will give to us those things we need, just as God has nurtured our ancestors.