Robert D. Jones - Why Worry?: Getting to the Heart of Your Anxiety

RCL Ministry Booklets

Booklets by Jeffrey S. Black, Michael R. Emlet,
Walter Henegar, Robert D. Jones, Susan Lutz,
James C. Petty, David Powlison, Paul David
Tripp, Edward T. Welch, and John Yenchko.

See all the books and booklets in the
Resources for Changing Lives series
at www.prpbooks.com

COUNSELING RESOURCES

David Powlison has profoundly impacted my ministry by teaching me the disciplineof seeing life through the lens of Scripture rather than the other way around. Thecrumbs from Daves tablehis most casual commentshave nourished me for years. Thisis a feast of biblical insight.

KEN SANDE

Powlison urges counselors to speak directly to people rather than use abstractions.In this excellent book he takes a number of Bible passages and speaks them rightinto our hearts. Reading this is a rich experience for counselors and for everyonewho wants to apply Gods Word to his or her life.

JOHN FRAME

COUNSELING RESOURCES

Ed Welch is a good physician of the soul. This book is enlightening, convicting,and encouraging. I highly recommend it.

JERRY BRIDGES

Refreshingly biblical.... Brimming with helpful, readable, practical insight.

JOHN MACARTHUR

Readable and refreshing.... Goes to the heart of an issue immobilizing the church.Exposes and repudiates the trivia of therapeutic theology with wisdom and compassion.

SUSAN HUNT

COUNSELING RESOURCES

A wonderful reminder that everyone who belongs to Jesus can help others. God gaveus to each other! This is a wise and helpful book that should change your life andthat of the church. Read it! Youll be glad.

STEVE BROWN

Tripp is a careful and skillful physician of the heart. He unites a loving heartwith a mind trained to the Scriptures. This book is a great companion for pastorsand counselors. It will guide anyone who wants to give real help to others, the savinghelp that is found in Christs redeeming work.

RICHARD D. PHILLIPS

1999, 2018 by Robert D. Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy,recording, or otherwiseexcept for brief quotations for the purpose of review orcomment, without the prior permission of the publisher, P&R Publishing Company,P.O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865-0817.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations have been taken from the ChristianStandard Bible, Copyright 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.Christian Standard Bible and CSB are federally registered trademarks of HolmanBible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked ( NIV ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New InternationalVersion, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permissionof Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and NewInternational Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent andTrademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Jones, Robert D., 1959- author.

Title: Why worry? : getting to the heart of your anxiety/Robert D. Jones.

Description: Phillipsburg : P&R Publishing, 2018. | Series: Resources for changing lives | Series: RCL ministry booklets

Identifiers: LCCN 2017050957| ISBN 9781629953717 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781629953724 (epub) | ISBN 9781629953731 (mobi)

Subjects: LCSH: Anxiety--Biblical teaching. | Worry-- Biblical teaching. |Anxiety--Religious aspects--Christianity. | Worry--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Classification: LCC BS680.A58 J66 2018 | DDC 152.4/6--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017050957

Resources for Changing Lives

A Ministry of
THE CHRISTIAN COUNSELING AND
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
Glenside, Pennsylvania

RCL Ministry Booklets

Perhaps no single problem hampers more people than the problem of worry or anxiety.It can arise suddenly and plague us daily. It saps our sleep, drains our joy, andexhausts our energy. It clouds our thinking, wrecks our relationships, and aggravatesour body ailments. While worry is chronic and crippling for some of us, it is aneveryday annoyance for all of us.

Is there any hope for this common problem?

Popular answers to worry seem insufficient and sometimes even counterproductive.Some people might say, Dont worry; most of what we worry about never comes to pass.But many of our concerns are very real. Some will come to pass. Others might say,When you worry, think on positive things. Think good thoughts, not bad. But thatis easier said than done when worrisome realities continually insert themselves intoour minds. Still others opt for anxiety medication, but their worries remain evenif their emotions are somewhat numbed. And the famous Grammy-Award-winning song byBobby McFerrin, Dont Worry, Be Happy, gives only inane reasons with no substance.The cultural solutions for the problems of worry, anxiety, and fear seem sadly simplistic.

In this booklet, we will explore the words of Jesus himself in the Sermon on theMount. We will see the hope he provides for us when we worry, as well as what worryis and how we can overcome it. We will learn that worry is a sin that expresses variousdegrees of idolatry and unbelief, even among believers. Along the way, well lookat the stories of Josh and Jessicatwo worriers who turned to God amid their concernsand found comfort from him.

Given the various methods that our culture recommends, and their inability to solvethe problem of worry, what hope do we have? The answer is God and his Word. The Scripturesbring good news: worry is a solvable problem. Through his Word and his Spirit, Godprovides followers of Christ with the wisdom and power we need to fight against worryand overcome our anxiety. The Lord gives powerful counsel for this perennial problem.

What should we do with our worry? How should we handle its onset? Three times inMatthew 6:1934, Jesus commands us not to worry: I tell you: Dont worry about yourlife (v. 25); So dont worry, saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink?or What will we wear? (v. 31); Therefore dont worry about tomorrow, becausetomorrow will worry about itself (v. 34). This detail alone breeds hope. The veryfact that Jesus himself addresses worry means that God knows about this problem andthat he has answers. We are not left to secular psychologies for answers to lifesproblems. The believer in Jesus does not need to depend on human opinions, theories,and techniques. We have the Bible to teach us how to handle worry. God himself guaranteeshelp and hope to worriers like you and me.