Chapel Homily: Nov. 10, 2026
"Do Not Worry"
Introduction
I once asked a pastor friend this question: "When you're making a point in a sermon, and it's on something you have no business sounding like you have it all together, how do you manage that?" He said that, in those moments, as a private reminder to himself, he steps to the side of the pulpit when he speaks.
We're in a series on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew's Gospel. Today's topic is "Worry." More specifically, Jesus telling us not to.
If I were to apply that principle on pulpit geography, for most of these next 12 minutes, I should be standing to the side of this lectern. But, I need to see my notes. So, students, picture me here; not here. But, I wonder if, like me, you hold some worries, ones that are hard to let go of. And despite all that we read in Scripture about trusting God, about how Jesus is with us, our worries can occupy our minds and souls.
Let's see if we might have some things in common. I can fret about:
- Conversations that I know are going to be hard and I'm concerned about how they are going to go. I think about them, a lot, before I ever have them or am going to be on the receiving end of them. So, that single conversation can become a multi-day conversation in my head. Yeesh.
- In professional roles, since I was 22, I've had to develop thick skin. It's not reptilian thick, but it's thicker. But that doesn't mean I've ever been completely free of worrying what people might think of me. Do you ever worry about how you are viewed by others?
- If Janice is due to get home some evening at say 8 p.m., and now it's 8:30 p.m. and no Janice, this has my attention. Now it's 9 p.m., and I haven't heard anything. At that point, I'm worried. Now there's a physical and emotional reaction. I can start to feel a pit in my stomach. Is she okay? Did something happen? Why hasn't she called? Was the line at Cold Stone Creamery really that long?
- But, in our text for today, we're told to NOT worry. That it's wrong to worry. So now, I'm worried about my worrying!
["Don't worry" song clip here]
"Don't worry. 'Cause every little thing gonna be alright." No, it won't! And you and I both know it. That's just baloney! Further, Sebastian the Crab from The Little Mermaid is NOT a voice of authority on worrying.
I want to start by giving us all a break. That's because we are worriers by nature. The Bible has several hundred texts that address fear—and if you're counting, at least one for every day of the year. Reality check: we worry. The Lord knows it.
That's because we are wired to react to the things that threaten us. We really can't help it. We all have this evolutionary survival mechanism where our brains are wired to anticipate and react to danger. Our responses are natural ones that help keep us safe. That's a good thing.
We also have a discomfort of the unknown. We don't tolerate uncertainty very well. All of the "what if's" about life and situations can become huge burdens. What if God doesn't get it right for me? What if I blow this exam? What if this relationship isn't restored, or what if this relationship doesn't become something more, something special? What if I don't get the right job in the right city, right away? "What if's" can take up a lot of space in our heads and hearts. Have you ever taken the time to inventory the "what if's" that trouble you?
It's the story about the man fearful that someone will break into the family home—so, just in case, he has alarms and cameras, but also an unsettled feeling when he's on vacation and one he carries every night his head hits his pillow. Will this be the night? And then, finally, it happens. But it's his wife, a light sleeper, who hears the burglar. And so, she tiptoes downstairs, sees the burglar filling a sack, and says, "Excuse me. Before you go, can you come upstairs? My husband has been waiting 20 years to meet you."
Or maybe it's because you've seen this movie before. Stuff from our pasts that has caused trauma, like hard experiences from childhood, chronic life stresses—well, the world has felt like an unsafe and uncharitable place. You've come by that worry honestly.
Even though worry makes sense and comes naturally, it does some damage. In the German roots of the word, "worry" means "to strangle, to choke." Worry plays out as a mental rehearsal of all the things that could go wrong and how they could go wrong.
Worry is hurtful. Fear injures. Anxiety can paralyze. Worry, fear and anxiety are thieves. They steal our joy and our peace. They drain our physical and emotional well-being. I know you know that.
And when we carry those burdens alone, quietly, silently, which we tend to do, those burdens become even heavier. Well, what does Jesus say? Hear his voice, not as a scolding, but as reassurance.
Text:
The text: Matthew 6:
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
So, I think a better question for us is, when we worry, how might we respond? How might we become more settled in our hearts and minds?
Let's be clear, though: Freedom from worry does not mean a trouble-free life. Instead, Scripture tells us that there is peace and freedom because we can have confidence that Jesus loves us, hears us, and is with us. To all of the hundreds of verses about fear, attached are promises of God's presence. Pay attention to the verbs—ones that are counsel for us and speak to God's character:
Philippians 4:6-7 – "Be anxious for nothing, but instead present every request to God through prayer and thanksgiving. And the peace of God ... will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Let God know about your worries; name them and voice them; turn them into prayers.)
1 Peter 5:7 – "Cast all your anxieties onto God." (Toss, and leave them there.)
Proverbs 3:5-6 – "Trust in the Lord with all your heart rather than on your own understanding." (Stay present and centered on Jesus.)
Present. Cast. Trust. Because...
Isaiah 41:10 – "Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (God is present, He will strengthen, help, and hold up).
John 14:27 – "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you." (An offer of peace to troubled and fearful hearts—so, dwell upon His promises; marinate in what you know about the character of God.)
For me, within arm's reach when I'm at my office desk, I have this framed prayer. Pastor Lauren Taylor was invited to pray at a campus gathering when I was introduced as the person to step into my current role. It's a prayer about biblical characters who trusted in the Lord. It's a prayer that invites daily remembrance of who God is. And it's an anti-worry prayer.
Sentences begin by referencing God and by specific example, "You, God, are the one who gave Ruth. You are the one who met Moses." And then, Lauren wrote a firm and polite invitation that I remember those things.
Out of need and habit, I pick up this frame every week. As an antidote for your worries, what practice might you think about adopting? How do you create reminders for yourself about casting and trusting?
I am aware of a person crippled by worry, who then decided that they would write down the worries they had, right as they experienced them, and then put them in a jar. And then, every Wednesday morning, they pull those notes of worry from the jar and see how many, if any, turned out as they had feared. Wednesday to Wednesday—rinse and repeat. It doesn't mean some won't happen or be hard, but most worries didn't materialize; and, the person realized they had handled the things that had worried them.
So, Release and Rest: We can gain some sense of peace from acknowledging that our vision of the future is limited. And, we can surrender to a God of grace and rest in this simple truth: God loves you, He is on your side, and His pursuit of you is relentless.
Finally, and most importantly in our worries: Get closer to Jesus
Throughout Scripture, Jesus saw the expressed fear of his disciples, and he never wanted them to remain in their fears. Peter in the boat, the disciples in stormy seas, people who were weary and burdened: Jesus said, "Don't be afraid. Come towards me." Fear gets our attention; but we can't stay there. Jesus, over and over, says, "Get closer to me." For all of us, for whatever brings us fear, we can have hope. Because Jesus is always near. Amen.
Benediction
I think I shared this from Pastor Craig Barnes a couple of years ago, but is it fitting here. A young man, a recent college graduate, came to him for pastoral counseling. He had two job offers, one in New York, the other in Chicago. Both great jobs in good places. And so, he asked the pastor, "What should I do? What road should I take? Where should I live?" To which Barnes replied: "I have no idea. But I do know that God owns all of the roads. He owns all of the cities. And he owns all of the roads that lead to all of the cities. Wherever you are, whatever situation you find yourself, God is with you." You know, that's true.
The prophet Isaiah praised the Lord by writing, "You keep them in perfect peace, whose minds are set on you, because they trust in you."
Present, cast, trust. Be held in perfect peace.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go in peace.