Dear Friends of Longview Chapel,
So many of you commented on last Sunday’s sermon about not worrying. I think the topic was relevant! Thank you for sharing your comments. Hearing about your journeys helps me in mine, and helps our congregation as we support each other in our faith and action.
Worry is a challenge most of us face daily, or at least certainly weekly. Sometimes worry and the fears behind it can serve as a signal to help us reset or focus. Fear can even cause us to take a different approach and protect us. But when we let our fear or worries take our attention, imagination, and energy, we will miss much of what God desires for us to see and do.
One person shared with me something they had learned at work:
Fear is:
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real
We could look at that in many ways just from the material sense. Sometimes we think something is true or real when it is not. For example, we think someone is upset about something with us when they have an upset stomach. Or we think we did poorly at work or an assignment to find that others really appreciated our work.
In the spiritual realm, it is essential that we always remember that in the beginning, middle and end God’s love and presence wins. Maybe not in the way we think it will or as quickly as we would like. The spiritual reality is always that God’s love is at work in us and around us. Anything less than this trust is “false evidence appearing real.” When we give our focus and actions to that work, we will find God’s kingdom grows in us and around us, too.
Sin is real. And it hurts all of us. And God’s love and grace are greater and infinite. This is a fact we can know is true and can be trusted throughout our lives.
Praying you find the prayer, the song, the breathing meditation, or action that helps to free you from worry to thrive as God’s daughters and sons in a world that needs to see God’s Presence in us.
Learning with You,
Pastor Donna