"Identity": Do Not Worry

Before Courtney and I headed home, we decided to stop by “Identity” at the Garage, a worship gathering for junior high and high school students. My best friend Chris led acoustic worship, and the youth minister Larry took the stage and spoke on fears and worries. “All of us have our fears, and all of us have our worries. We are so often consumed with worry and fear that we find it difficult to trust in God’s provisions.” He used the story of Jesus’ walking on water during the storm, and he spoke on how Peter’s fear stemmed from not trusting in Jesus for safety (the story is found in Matthew 14).

Being an Old Testament fan myself, I immediately thought of the commissioning of Joshua and God’s commands to him: “Don’t you dare be afraid, for I am with you!” Moses had led the Israelites out of Egypt and to the brink of the “Promised Land” of Canaan, but what lied before them was something that produced fear in the hearts of the people: the Canaanites were a mighty people with great warriors, heavily fortified cities, and their practices of child sacrifice and the like would have no doubt aided to the peoples’ fear. When Moses died, his successor Joshua took his place. It was his job to lead the conquest into Canaan. He must have experienced some sort of fear, for in God’s commissioning of him, He tells him over and over, “Do not be afraid!”

"Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I'm giving to the People of Israel. I'm giving you every square inch of the land you set your foot on—just as I promised Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon east to the Great River, the Euphrates River—all the Hittite country—and then west to the Great Sea. It's all yours. All your life, no one will be able to hold out against you. In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul. Make sure you carry out The Revelation that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take." (Joshua 1.1-9, The Message)

Fear and worry is something I deal with in my own life. While I am not given a sword and shield and told to slaughter thousands of people in the name of God, there are things in my life that cause me worry and fear. I am afraid of being alone as an old man. I am afraid of my loved ones suddenly dying or leaving me. I worry about my future, about my relationship with my girlfriend, about whether or not I will be a good preacher of the gospel. I struggle to trust God to take care of my everyday needs. I struggle with “handing over” my fears and worries to God and letting Him work out the details as He so desires. Trusting God has always been a difficulty of mine, and some days are easier than others. I am sure Joshua’s own trust in God fluctuated, and we know from the New Testament scriptures that Peter’s trust in Christ fluctuated immensely and often. Can we really blame either of them? How are we any different?

What is it that fuels such fear and worry, such lack of trust in God? A news story recently revealed that most of the illegal Mexican immigrants who cross the border into America stop practicing their Christian faith altogether. When interviewed, they said, “We needed to depend on God more when we were in Mexico, but now we have everything we need. We can provide for ourselves.” When we become self-sufficient, our everyday needs fall into our own hands. The United States holds such a high position in the world that nearly anyone can have anything they want. Self-sufficiency is the key player on the field. Trust in God is severely downplayed, because people can now provide for themselves. Jesus tells us we must become dependent on God just as children are dependent on their parents, or we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. One of the greatest facets of the gospel is that we as humans are not self-sufficient. We cannot provide for ourselves what we truly need, that is, a renewed friendship with God. We must humble ourselves and put ourselves in the arms of God, and we must trust Him with our lives. When real trust comes into play, fear and worry—while not entirely extinguished, let’s be honest—are greatly reduced.

Whatever the reason(s) for worry and fear, Messiah explicitly tells us not to worry, because if we focus on the kingdom and doing God’s will, God will take care of us. It is a convicting command, yet in it is found tranquility and life:

"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

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.” (Matt 6.25-34, The Message)