What are you worrying about this day? What troubles you? What do you fear?

I have this reoccurring dream. In fact, it woke me up again last night.

No not that dream, the one where you show up to high school in your underwear and everyone else is mysteriously OK with it!

My reoccurring dream happens in a few different ways, but always a variation on this theme:

I’m still in college. It’s my senior year. And it’s the last day of the school year. I realize that I haven’t completed a bunch of assignments. Or I haven’t attended class all year. Or I forgot about a pivotal exam.

And so I worry that I’m not going to graduate and flunk out. Or I wake up worrying that I actually haven’t graduated, at which point I sometimes have to make sure I really do have my degree by stumbling to my study wall.

This same dream woke me the night of July 4th. This time I was still in seminary. And I had this mega Greek exam the next day and realized I hadn’t been to class in  6 weeks. So in my dream I’m running around trying to learn the Greek on my own. Doing flash cards. Conjugating verbs. Translating sentences. And I’m panicking I’m gonna fail.

Then somehow there was this Spanish class that I also hadn’t attended. And I was supposed to preach a sermon in español—which made no sense because I don’t know any. But when do these types of dreams ever make any sense! So I’m panicking that I’m gonna totally bomb that one, too.

So here I am in my in-laws cottage on Houghton Lake and I wake up and have this moment of panic—like did I really graduate? Do I really have my degree? Am I  a bonifide pastor?

Dream experts will say that this type of dream reflects some deep-seated uneasiness about your life. Some sort of deep-seated worry and anxiety that’s simmering just below the surface in the subconscious.

Dreams about failure and flunking out often reflect fears and anxieties and worries in our inner-self that we may not be consciously feeling—but are definitely there.

Now I’m not normally a worrier. I have a pretty positive outlook on life. But lately there have been a few worries that probably fueled this crazy dream a week ago.

In this past week my wife and I have made the decision to make an attempt to rent our house for a year in order to move out to Muskegon (a city 35 minutes from where we live now where I took up a pastoral calling a year ago to re-plant a dying church) and live and invest in the community.

So maybe some of where this dream came from was worrying about how on earth that’s going to happen and what needs to happen to move out here.

And then there’s the thought—What happens if we make the move and 6 months later the church can’t be sustained anymore and has to close? Then we’re stuck out there. Which wouldn’t be all bad because of all the lovely people we’ve met. But still: Big move. Big step of faith. And sort of a big worry.

Which gets to another lingering fear—that I don’t have what it takes to move this church forward. That after a year of some stability and growth that it’s just going to fade away and go down in some flaming pile of destruction.

In many ways I worry that I will totally fail at this. Totally fail them. Fail God.

So maybe some of these secret worries just below the surface fueled this crazy random nightmare about failing and flunking out at seminary.

How about you? What are you worrying about today? What troubles you? What do you fear?

This gets us to the command of Jesus I find most frustrating. No it’s not the whole “love your enemies and pray for them” bit, though that’s definitely a nail-on-chalboard command, too. No, it’s this one:

“Do not worry about your life…” (Matt 6:25)

Do not worry? Pah-lease!

Sometimes when I read these words I’m like—easier said than done Jesus! Of course you can say this because you’re like…God! So of course you don’t worry.

Ever feel that way? Like this commandment is made for a perfect world—just not your world?

Yet here it is—Do not worry.

Why does Jesus say this? Why can Jesus say this? Why can he tell us not to worry about our life—what we will eat or drink or wear; where we will live or work; who we’ll work with or do our life with?

Because “your heavenly Father knows that you need…” (Matt 6:33)

Jesus says the pagans run after all of these questions—what shall we eat, drink, wear?—but “your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

Your heavenly Father knows that you need that job or extra patience with the kids or healing or money to pay your mortgage or to put your family back together again—whatever.

Whatever is worrying you this day—God knows.

And what’s more: if God feeds the birds, if God clothes the lilies of the field in such great splendor—how much more will God do for you who are worth way more than little birdies and little flowers?

“Why run around like the pagans worrying all day long?” Jesus asks. You have a Father who is aware of every one of your needs. And God really can be trusted with them.

So what are we to do, then? Instead of worrying what should we do? Verse 33: “But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

From Worry to Worship

The whole theme of this teaching of Jesus is that God will take care of his people, so we should put our trust completely in him.

But not only are we called to actively trust God, Jesus calls us to replace our concerns of earthly matters with this overwhelming concern for the things of God.

Instead of worrying, seek God’s kingdom. Instead of worrying seek His righteousness. Instead of worrying—worship!

It’s not immediately apparent this passage is connected to worship, but if you look closely you’ll see it begins with therefore.”In light of what I just said…” do this. Which was what?

“No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt 6:24) This verse connected with our frustrating command means you cannot worship both God and the things that worry you!

Which is why when you are drawn and tempted and wooed into worrying, take a break, take a breath, and turn the attention of your churning soul toward worshiping the God who knows you (Psalm 8), values and cherishes you (Matt 6),  knows what you need (Matt 6), and is ready to give you what you need (Matt 7).

What is worrying you? What troubles you? What do you fear? Know this day that God understands your worries. Not only does He understand, he also knows what you need. Not only does He know, He cares deeply about those needs and is all powerful to do something about them.

So, as Jesus says, do not worry about your life. Instead, transform that worry into worship.