by Devin Dummel
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was at the mall with my family. My dad was at work so it was just my mom and my brothers. We had been shopping on the second floor of sears or JC Penny. It was time to head back to the car so my mother took my younger brother’s hand and got on the escalator and proceeded to the exit. I was supposed to follow.
But in that moment something happened and I froze. I had been on escalators hundreds of times. But for whatever reason, it felt like it was the first time I would have to do it by myself. I was afraid I was going to get sucked up and trapped in the stairs. In my panic, I froze; and as the seconds ticked by my family got further and further away. But I stayed planted at the top of the escalator, on solid ground, trapped in my fear, anxiety, and worry.
Looking back on it now I realize that I had nothing to be scared of but not all fears are rooted in reality. There are so many things that we can be afraid of. Some fears are healthy, but some are unfounded and unhealthy.
I don’t know how you handle fear, but I typically keep it to myself and I get really anxious and worked up – and I will start to worry.
Do you know what worry is? It’s kind of an odd feeling to explain. Here’s the best way I can explain it:
Worry is negative thoughts or emotions that we have trouble controlling about a potential problem.
You know what’s really strange about us humans – we have phobias for everything you could ever dream of.
• There are phobias about spiders
• Phobias about clowns
• Phobias about water
• And yes even phobias about beards …
That seems so ridiculous – I thought everyone loved beards.
The truth is we are pretty good at getting worked up and worried about a lot of things – too many things really. And many times the things we are anxious about or worry about don’t ever happen – so really we worry over nothing.
This month we are talking about how Jesus recuses. He rescues us from all kinds of problems and issues, but something I am so thankful for is that Jesus can rescue us from our anxiety, worry, and fear.
We see a great example of this with Jesus and his friends in Luke chapter 10.
To give you a little background: Jesus was going on a trip to visit his friends. These friends of his were sisters, and their names were Mary and Martha.
Martha was one of those list type people. You know the ones who are always working and always achieving, they are always trying to do more and more and more. But her sister Mary was much different, she was pretty laid back. She was more the “go with the flow” kind of person. It’s not that she didn’t like getting things done; she was just ok to take her time getting things accomplished.
Now, the thing you need to understand was that when Jesus traveled – lots of people traveled with him – His friend the disciples – as well as other people from the surrounding area who wanted to hear him teach.
So when he went to Mary and Martha’s house there were lots of things to do – lots of tasks and chores – things to get ready so that everyone could enjoy their time with Jesus.
After Jesus arrived he started to teach, and Mary stopped what she was doing and sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to everything he had to say.
But when her sister, Martha saw this she was frustrated because she was busy worrying about doing all the things that needed to be done to make their day a success. She got so frustrated at one point she pulled Jesus aside and said, “Jesus, don’t you ever care that my sister lets me do all the work by myself – won’t you tell her to help me?”
Jesus heard her and then responded by saying, “Martha – I hear your frustration, but you are getting worked up way too much and worrying over nothing. These preparations don’t matter – really the only thing that matters is being here with me – and that’s what Mary has chosen.”
Jesus wanted Martha to see that too often we get worked up and worry about things that don’t really matter.
Jesus wanted his friends to know and you to know that you don't have to worry because He's got everything under control. He knows it's not easy … he knows that it's a natural thing to try to worry – but even though it's natural … it's not necessary.
It’s not something you have to do.
The truth is Jesus may not take away the things that make us worry, but he promises to help us carry the load.
We should always remember that we do not have to be afraid. We don’t have to be anxious or get worked up. We don’t have anything to worry about – because we have an amazing God and he promises that Jesus will always come to our rescue!
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