Day 633 – Strangled By Worry – FearLess Friday

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 633 of our trek time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday we pondered some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they impact us in creating our living legacy.

For the next several weeks we will focus how to live with less fear. We will explore the trails on our trek of life that will help us to be fearless. This does not imply that we will reach the point where we are completely without any fear, for that is not only impossible but also unwise. There is a time and a place for an appropriate level of fear, but most fear that we experience on a daily basis has no grounding and can be eliminated as we grow in wisdom, insight, and understanding. So our objective for these next several Fridays is to experience a FearLess Friday on our trek of life.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. We have the blessing of having Kip, who is Harold Guthrie Chamberlain, V, one of our grandsons stay with us this week and next. Chelimo, his mom, is in the Army Reserves and has two weeks of summer camp that she must attend, and it helps our oldest son Harry have a couple of weeks to focus on his work and some other household chores. We are so glad for this opportunity to reinforce into Kip Godly values from Granny and Gramps. It also gives him an occasion to invest time with his local cousins.

We are still awaiting word from the oncology team on when Hazel’s next treatment regimen will begin. It is possible that she will be going to Columbus the day this episode is released. We do our best not to worry about her situation, but that is difficult at times. We need to leave the details in God’s hands and the capable oncology team.

As we break camp and head out on our trail today, we will be focusing on this topic of worry and our lesson title for today is…

Are you a worrier? What do you worry about? Do you worry that you won’t be able to pay your bills? Do you worry about your children when they’re out of your sight? Do you feel anxiety about your marriage? Do you worry about your health? Are you anxious about the future because you’re facing a new job, a move to another city, having a new addition to your family? Maybe you just worry because it is a habit.

Worry is to be uneasy in the mind, to feel anxious about something, to fret. Interestingly, it comes from an Old English word that means “to strangle.” 

What an appropriate derivation! Worry strangles our peace of mind and our enjoyment of life. There’s a direct connection between fear and worry. Sometimes they may be interchangeable. Worry affects us mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Dr. Charles Mayo said, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands, the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects the health.”

God instructs us not to worry, and Scripture overwhelms us with reasons for not being anxious. Let’s look at an interesting incident in the Old Testament that gives us a powerful defense against worry.

In 2 Kings 6, the king of Aram (now the nation of Syria) was at war with the northern kingdom, Israel.  Every time the king would prepare to attack Israel, they would be prepared to fight him. Here is the story in 2 Kings 6:8-15, “When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, ‘We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place.’ But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, ‘Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.’ So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there. The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, ‘Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?’ ‘It’s not us, my lord the king,’ one of the officers replied.’Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!’ ‘Go and find out where he is,’ the king commanded, ‘so I can send troops to seize him.’ And the report came back: ‘Elisha is at Dothan.’ So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city. When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. ‘Oh, sir, what will we do now?’ the young man cried to Elisha.”

The King of Aram thought he finally had Elisha and could easily defeat Israel now.

Imagine waking up and finding your city surrounded by an enemy army! Elisha’s servant was worried sick, terrified. But through this frightening experience, he learned a wonderful truth. As we read on in 2 Kings 6:16-17 here is the narrative, “‘Don’t be afraid!’ Elisha told him.’For there are more on our side than on theirs!’ Then Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!’ The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.”

Elisha didn’t have a worry in the world! God had sent an angelic army to protect his servant. After surveying that breathtaking display of power, he knew what the outcome would be. He was able to show mercy to the enemy soldiers because God had rendered them harmless. From this, we learn a key principle:

Introducing God into the equation changes the odds, no matter how frightening the situation looks.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, that’s the Old Testament. There were all kinds of miracles then. That doesn’t apply to this day and age.” That’s not true. This incident is an illustration of a New Testament principle described in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

Contrary to the saying, “What you see is what you get,” what we see is not all there is. Intense warfare is constantly being waged in the spirit world. Like Elisha, we have angels protecting us too. This is one reason we should not worry. Hebrews 1:14 tells us, “Therefore, angels are only servants—spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.”

God has also given us the armor and the weapons necessary to defeat our powerful enemies. Ephesians [6:10]-18 is a wonderful passage depicting our spiritual armor as the armor of a Roman soldier. Every piece of that armor is defensive except one. The only offensive weapon we have is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” God’s Word combined with prayer defeats our unseen enemies.

Do you see why fear and worry are so unnecessary for the believer? God is on our side. He has given us what we need for peace of mind, protecting us from the cancer of worry. He knows everything that’s going on, just as He knew what the Syrian king was plotting in his war room. He can prevent or permit whatever He wants, and sometimes He allows things that will hurt us. Why? Because if we trust Him, He will work them for our good. God is our Father, and we are His responsibility, just as we earthly parents are responsible for our children. Here’s another important principle, “Worry happens when we assume responsibility God never intended us to have.”

You may be thinking, “If I don’t worry, how will I feed and clothe my family? Isn’t worry a good motivator? Doesn’t it help to keep us on track?” The answer to these questions is a resounding NO!

Next Friday we will continue this topic of overcoming worry our series of trails as we look at how we can fear less and have more victory on a daily basis. I know you will find these insights interesting and profitable in living a rich and satisfying life.

Our next trek is Mindshift Monday where we will help you live differently by thinking differently. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along on Monday for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today. If you would like to listen to any of our past treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe at iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you on Monday!