The Anatomy of Worry

Overflow with Craig Booker

Louie opens the chapter with a story about a time he and his wife attended a NASCAR race. While they were there, they had the opportunity to ride around the track in one of the pace cars. They sat in the back while a twenty-year NASCAR veteran driver drove them around the track at well over one hundred miles per hour.

Louie talks in detail about how he was freaking out until he realized this professional driver had been doing this for years. Their prerace drive was nothing out of the ordinary for this driver. At the end of their drive, everyone in the car piled out laughing and talking about how fun it was. They could do this because they weren’t in control. The NASCAR driver was.

If you are feeling weighed down by feelings of worry, it is most likely that you are trying to control something or someone that you were not designed to control.

This is the way worry works. It begins with a logical thought that we should be concerned about XYZ. It is up to us to be prepared for whatever might come our way, right?

5 Major Themes of Worry1

We worry about:

1. A dangerous outcome
2. A threatening confrontation
3. A shortage of resources
4. Our ability
5. Global Disaster

A Dangerous Outcome

• We may worry about a cancer diagnosis for a friend or family member
• We may worry about a friend who, while traveling has an accident
• We may worry about our parents getting a divorce

A Threatening Confrontation

• Maybe you need to talk to your boss about a situation, and you worry about getting into an argument.
• It could be you worry about a conversation with your parents turning confrontational.

A Shortage of Resources

• Maybe you are worried about losing your job.
• You could be concerned about running out of time for a project.

Our Ability

• Will we make the cut?
• Do they like me?
• Did I do good enough?

Global Disaster

• Will there be another pandemic?
• Are we going to war?
• Will there be an economic crisis?

Dissecting Worry

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

They believed the lies of the Enemy encapsulated in questions like Is God good? Can He be trusted?

“When they held the fruit in their hands, they wanted to control their fate. They wanted to make sure they were in charge–or at least they had as much authority and ability as the God who had formed them and given them purpose.”1

“It turned out God wasn’t trying to keep anything from them with His command. In fact, God was seeking to protect their peaceful state.”1

“It’s one thing to try to make someone doubt God’s goodness in the midst of the pain and death we face on a broken planet. But how do you get someone who lives in Paradise to fall for a lie?”1

“…so you should be convinced that he’ll be bold enough to come after you.”1

His plan will involve a two-pronged attack.

1. “…he’ll attempt to get you to doubt God’s character and motives.”1
2. “…he’ll try to convince you that life will be better when you are in control…”1

First Lie – God’s character and motives.

So, how do we fight the Enemy when he tries to get us to doubt God’s character?

“When we look back at the cross, we see that there’s no doubting the fact that God is good and that He can be trusted.”1

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:13 NLT

Second Lie – Life will be better when you are in control

Again, we should look at the cross.

“Sin brought death. When we lived under the banner of death, we felt compelled to try to control every outcome, because if we didn’t, who would? Our need for control was rooted in fear, and it fueled our anxiety (Romans 8:15). We were fed the lie that we could become masters of our own fate. All the while, our end destination was determined: death.”1

“Think of it this way: we are trying to control life that inevitably ends in death. Yet God has stepped into the story with stunning grace and upended the power of dead, (1 Corinthians 15.26-28). It was His plan from the begin. ning of time (Acts 4:26-28). Jesus’ resurrection puts the brakes on our need for control because we can fully trust that the One who overcame death, hell, and the grave loves us and gives His victorious life to us through Jesus Christ. He promises to care for us. Guide us. Protect us.”1

“One of the most sobering descriptions of the victory of Jesus is found in Isaiah 53:4-5. Here we read that ‘Surely [Jesus] took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.'”1

“Jesus can carry what is worrying you because He has already carried what was meant to kill you.”1

“So if at the heart of worry is a desire for control, how do you change?”1

“You find peace by surrendering your need for control to the One who is actually in control.”1

“Scripture says: “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2). In Isaiah 46 God’s Word reminds us of just how in control God is:

I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. (vv. 9-10)”1

“Surrender your need to be in charge. Trust that His heart for you is good. Place in His hands whatever is caus. ing you to worry right now. Believe God is good at being in control.”1

“There is a benefit to being concerned or preparing for something. But the answer lies in separating concern or preparation from worry, because as we’ll find out in the next chapter, they are two very different things.”1

Prayer

“Father, I surrender my need for control to You. I humble myself under Your kind and righteous hand, believing and trusting that You are able to work all things out in ways that glorify You and that bring me the fruit of the Spirit. I release my heavy burden of needing to be in charge, and I take the freedom Your Son accomplished for me.”1

Discussion:1

1. What are you trying to control right now? What do you need to relinquish to God?
2. Write out what is currently worrying you. Then, write out a corresponding truth about the character of God for each concern. How can you frequently remind yourself of these truths of God’s character?
3. When you think about the cross of Jesus, what comes to your mind or stirs in your heart?
4. Read Isaiah 46 and write out four truths about the nature and character of God.

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Sources:

[1] Giglio, L. (2022). Winning the War On Worry – Cultivate a Peaceful Heart and a Confident Mind. Thomas Nelson.

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