Three Deadly Horsemen of Worry

Ok, so I think there were four horsemen, but whatever...

I was reflecting upon my blog posted yesterday, and I think there are three basic sources of worry, and they are not all about "suffering" as I made them out to be in that blog. Jesus faced them all, and through it all he never ceased to exhibit a peace "that endurethed."

(I think the only time he showed any sign of lacking such peace was when he was alone with God on Gethsemane and knew a time was coming when God himself would reject him. No doubt that was a worthy moment to be troubled!)

But consider the rest of the life of Jesus as recorded in the gospels...

1) Jesus wasn't afraid to suffer.

That part I noted yesterday. Too often we worry because we're afraid we will suffer. How ironic is that? We signed up for suffering when we pledged ourselves as his! Never mind the fine print... didn't we read the big print?? Those not-so-subtle comments about having to take up our crosses and follow him?? But we worry nevertheless. Is a cross coming? When will this one be taken from me? When we expect crosses and are not surprised by them... when we bear them without complaint... I think most of our worries will become a thing of the past.

2) Jesus wasn't afraid he wouldn't get everything done.

The world always had more for Jesus to do than he had time to do as a single man. Why we think we can do better than he did I don't know. But we do. And usually the cure is to revel in our limitations and let God accomplish, through us, more than we can ask or imagine, to quote that scripture verse. When we expect to not get everything done, but trust instead that God will help us to do exactly what needs to be done (by us), a big chunk of our remaining worries will also become a thing of the past.

3) Jesus didn't fret about things not placed under his control.

He no doubt grieved over every poor choice he saw anyone make. Note his lament, for example, over Jerusalem. ("O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.") But I don't think Jesus worried (strictly speaking) at all about Jerusalem and her wayward children. Worry of this sort involves a certain amount of unhealthy clinging... clinging to an unhealthy desire to exercise control over domains not meant to be under our control. Jesus never did that. If we cast aside worries of this sort, I do believe the last of our sources of worry would be conquered.

And if we did all that, I do believe indeed his peace would be given to us in abundance... a peace beyond understanding and of the sort the world can never offer us.

The Peace of Christ!

Give me more of it!