The Anatomy of Worry

Overflow with Craig Booker

Louie opens the chapter with a story about a time he and his wife attended a NASCAR race. While they were there, they had the opportunity to ride around the track in one of the pace cars. They sat in the back while a twenty-year NASCAR veteran driver drove them around the track at well over one hundred miles per hour.

Louie talks in detail about how he was freaking out until he realized this professional driver had been doing this for years. Their prerace drive was nothing out of the ordinary for this driver. At the end of their drive, everyone in the car piled out laughing and talking about how fun it was. They could do this because they weren’t in control. The NASCAR driver was.

If you are feeling weighed down by feelings of worry, it is most likely that you are trying to control something or someone that you were not designed to control.

This is the way worry works. It begins with a logical thought that we should be concerned about XYZ. It is up to us to be prepared for whatever might come our way, right?

5 Major Themes of Worry1

We worry about:

1. A dangerous outcome
2. A threatening confrontation
3. A shortage of resources
4. Our ability
5. Global Disaster

A Dangerous Outcome

• We may worry about a cancer diagnosis for a friend or family member
• We may worry about a friend who, while traveling has an accident
• We may worry about our parents getting a divorce

A Threatening Confrontation

• Maybe you need to talk to your boss about a situation, and you worry about getting into an argument.
• It could be you worry about a conversation with your parents turning confrontational.

A Shortage of Resources

• Maybe you are worried about losing your job.
• You could be concerned about running out of time for a project.

Our Ability

• Will we make the cut?
• Do they like me?
• Did I do good enough?

Global Disaster

• Will there be another pandemic?
• Are we going to war?
• Will there be an economic crisis?

Dissecting Worry

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

They believed the lies of the Enemy encapsulated in questions like Is God good? Can He be trusted?

“When they held the fruit in their hands, they wanted to control their fate. They wanted to make sure they were in charge–or at least they had as much authority and ability as the God who had formed them and given them purpose.”1

“It turned out God wasn’t trying to keep anything from them with His command. In fact, God was seeking to protect their peaceful state.”1

“It’s one thing to try to make someone doubt God’s goodness in the midst of the pain and death we face on a broken planet. But how do you get someone who lives in Paradise to fall for a lie?”1

“…so you should be convinced that he’ll be bold enough to come after you.”1

His plan will involve a two-pronged attack.

1. “…he’ll attempt to get you to doubt God’s character and motives.”1
2. “…he’ll try to convince you that life will be better when you are in control…”