Worry | Sara Hagerty | Creatures of Habit

Creatures of Habit

May 9

Teaching Notes

The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all .
Psalm 33:13-15a ESV

“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? 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34 NIV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23

Perfect love casts out fear: 1 John 4:18 ESV

Going Deeper Discussion

What memories or emotions come to mind when you think about Mother’s Day?

What worry did you bring here that’s obvious to you? Think of one that is easy to name, one you’ve already identified or that kept you up last night or this week. Now, let’s sit a little longer: what might be a more buried worry? One that you’ve lived with for longer – one that only rears its head occasionally, one that’s had a longer run?
Traditionally, how have you responded to your anxiety … to your worry?
What would be your hesitation to name your worry as such and to sit with God in it, with the intent that He might meet you and change you, right there?
Over 2020-2021, when have you experienced realizing that there are sides of Him you barely know – when have you, yourself, said “I barely know you this way God”? What might it look like to scoot up closer to Him in these places where He feels like a familiar stranger?
Take a verse or passage of the Bible that directly combats one of the worries that has been surfacing in your heart. Can you reach to name the worry in this place and bring your honest heart before God and acknowledge the gap between where you are and the truth of His Word and ask Him to come meet you in this place?