Bears Repeating. "Don't Worry."

Don't worry.
It's not a light switch. But at least you can become more aware, and regain control in that awareness. So, maybe it's at least a dimmer switch, and only your hand is on the knob.

Spend some time as a group discussing what it might look like to "gain traction" in the area of our worry, anxiety and fretting about things we can and can't control.



Thaw

• Who was the person who taught you what you believe about worry?
• What would be different about your life if it had no worry in it?
• How does your answer reveal to you whether worry seems necessary or not?
• What has most stayed with you from Sunday?

Read

• Matthew 6:25-34
• Thoughts?
• What is the difference between worry and concern?
• Why do we believe being upset is necessary to accomplish a goal?
• How did Jesus do what he did without worry, and do you have to have the "son of God" card to be able to live that way?

Read

• Philippians 4:4-9
• Thoughts?
• What does Paul have to say about waging war on worry with gratitude?
• What does Paul have to say about how to see the rest of the picture rather than "just the one dot on the board"?

Apply

• How is worry and anxiety causing friction in your relationships, and how might naming that be helpful?

Meditation

• Name something that is currently worrying you. Play out the worst case scenario with it. See if you can disarm the thing that is worrying you to the point of paralysis and misery by naming all the things that could happen, and what you would do if they did.

Leader note: This is a mindfulness trick. Say a member reveals they are scared they are going to have their house foreclosed upon or get a bad diagnosis or flunk a test. Play out the worst case with them. Enter the question, "then what?" Each domino falls, and rather than worry (which paralyzes) the member applies thoughtful concern (which takes responsibility.) The line of questions isn't to prove there is "nothing to worry about," although it can have the affect of neutralizing unnamed boogeymen. This trick helps people identify the parts of their stress they can control and which parts they cannot. It unlocks and empowers the mind. When Jesus says don't worry, and when he says 'seek first the Kingdom', he may be understood to be saying "you are worrying to the point of blindness and ineffectiveness. Find the power available to you as a kingdom citizen, and ask the King to do the rest." That is, he is helping us put fear away so we can be properly concerned with living our lives well. These peaceable, well-lived lives are Kingdom lives.