Kerry Shook - Recycling My Worry and Reclaiming My Peace
We have 10 adults and 10 grandchildren in our family, and it’s such a blessing that we all get together at our house quite often. But after everyone leaves, our outdoor trash cans, which were empty before they came over, are filled to overflowing-I mean overflowing-and half of them are filled with diapers. You know that’s not great. I admit when we all get together, we generate a lot of trash. The garbage pickup in our neighborhood is on Thursdays, and the most frustrating and depressing days I’ve ever had are the rare Thursdays after our family has been over when I forget to put the trash out. It’s a disaster that’s hard to overcome; it takes weeks to catch up. Even when I sneak extra garbage into the neighbor’s cans, it’s still hard to catch up.
So I get excited when the trash truck comes and picks up the garbage that I’ve put out, starting over for a new week. That excitement apparently runs in our family. Our oldest grandson, Ben, is 10 years old, but when he was two, he loved trash trucks. A trash truck was his favorite toy. Whenever he would hear the trash truck come by, he would run to look out the window, and he would get so excited. On one miraculous day, he happened to be playing outside when the trash truck came. Several years ago, I showed this video, but I have to show it again because it’s one of my all-time favorites. Just watch! It takes a lot more than that now to get him excited, but those were the days. You know, after I showed this video, a guy in the church who was friends with the CEO of Waste Management sent the video to the CEO of Waste Management just to show him what a difference they were making in the life of a child. I’m sure that was encouraging. You’re making a huge difference!
But we’re in this series I’m calling «Recycle,» and I came across this list of things that you can’t recycle-or at least, you’re not supposed to put them in the recycle bin-and some of these were kind of surprising. You’re not supposed to recycle plastic bags, Styrofoam, paper napkins, paper plates, or paper cups. Did you realize that? Are you throwing those in the recycle bin? Tissues, pizza boxes, anything that’s had food or liquid in it, and of course, all food garbage-there are a lot of things that can’t be recycled. But I’m so glad we have a God who can recycle anything. There is nothing our God cannot recycle. He can take all our trash and recycle it into treasure. He can take all our mess and turn it into a miracle.
One of the things that can really mess with our minds and mess up our lives is worry. Now, worry goes in the wastebasket because it’s just a waste of time; it’s a waste of energy. Jesus said, «Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?» Worry doesn’t help you live longer; it just does the opposite. It’s harmful to you, and worry is worthless. It doesn’t do any good. You know, you get some negative news on your newsfeed, and then you start to worry and get anxious, but it doesn’t help anything; it just hurts you. The root of the English word for «worry» literally means to choke or to strangle. Whenever you worry, it puts a chokehold on your life and strangles the peace out of your mind and heart. Now, we all struggle with worry; we all struggle with anxiety, fear, and insecurity to some degree. Some of you are really good worriers, and in fact, as I’ve started this message right now, you’re worried that you’re worrying too much and that it’s harmful to you, aren’t you? That’s how good of a worrier you are.
Well, if you’re a great worrier, here’s the great news: God can recycle your worries into peace of mind. How does God do that? Through prayer. So I want us to look at the Lord’s Prayer because here He teaches us how to pray and how I can let God take all my worries and recycle them into peace of mind. So would you stand in honor of God’s Word, and would you read the Lord’s Prayer out loud with me? You know the Lord’s Prayer, so just read it out loud with me. In this manner, therefore, pray:
«Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.»
You can be seated. Jesus says here, «This is how you should pray.» Now, He didn’t say, «This is what you should pray.» I mean, we recite the Lord’s Prayer, and there’s nothing wrong with that-it’s a good thing; it’s a beautiful thing to recite the Lord’s Prayer. But Jesus didn’t say, «This is what you pray.» He said, «This is how you pray.» He was saying there are principles in here about prayer, and prayer is what recycles your worries into peace. The Lord’s Prayer shows us God’s recycling process that we have to cooperate with to reclaim our peace of mind. There are so many principles in here on how to pray, and prayer is what recycles your worries into peace.
The first principle that I have to apply to cooperate with God’s recycling process is to trust the Father’s plan. I’ve got to trust my loving Heavenly Father’s plan for my life. Now, let’s start at the very beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, because it starts in Matthew 6:9 with «Our Father in heaven.» In order to let God recycle my worries into personal peace, I have to trust that I have a loving Heavenly Father who knows what’s best for me. He’s saying when you remember that the all-powerful Creator of the universe is your Father, who cares about everything you’re worried about, then you’ll bring your worries to Him in prayer. The Lord’s Prayer goes on to say in Matthew 6:10, «Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.» So what is God’s kingdom? Well, God’s kingdom is His plan for all history, His plan to rule and reign for all eternity. So where is God’s kingdom? God’s kingdom is wherever He’s allowed to rule and reign. If you allow Christ to rule and reign in your heart and you trust His plan for your life-even when you don’t understand what He’s doing at the time-then God’s kingdom is in your heart. And wherever God’s kingdom is, there is peace.
Now, there will be times when I have to accept things that I don’t like, things that I don’t understand, things I cannot change, things I cannot control-because I trust that I have a loving Heavenly Father who’s allowed this into my life. I know it must be part of His loving plan for me. I don’t understand it; I don’t like it; it’s painful, but it must be part of God’s plan for me. If I don’t come to that place, I’m filled with worry and I lose my peace because the fastest way to lose your peace of mind is to try to control circumstances that are uncontrollable, to try to change people who are unchangeable, to try to control problems I was never meant to control. I mean, you should try to fix the things in your life that you can fix, and you should pray and ask God to change that painful circumstance or take away that problem, and many times He does.
Sometimes God changes my circumstances, but sometimes God changes me in the circumstance. Sometimes God takes the problem right out of my life, and I love those times, but sometimes God takes me through the problem; it’s all to recycle my character, to take me to a new depth of character, a new level of purpose and power in my life. I can experience supernatural peace no matter what’s going on around me. Acceptance is the key to peace, and the key to acceptance is trust. The only way I’ll accept some of the things in my life that I don’t like and that are painful-those problems I can’t control or change-is to trust that I have a loving Heavenly Father who’s allowed it. He only allows things into my life for His glory and for my ultimate good, and He knows what He’s doing even when I don’t feel it, when it looks like to me that He doesn’t.
I have to come to his place of acceptance, because acceptance is the pathway to peace. Now I’ve given you some puzzle pieces; as you walked in, everyone should have a puzzle piece. Take out that puzzle piece now. What we’re going to do right now is we’re all going to get together out in the foyer, and we’re going to put together this giant puzzle. It’s going to take us probably three days; we’ll have some food brought in-it’s going to be great! We’re going to lock the doors until we get it. How about that?
Now you have a puzzle piece; it doesn’t make any sense, does it? You have no idea what it is, but these puzzle pieces go to some beautiful landscape puzzles, cityscapes, but you don’t know what it is. Have you ever put a puzzle together? Sometimes my family puts puzzles together, and you come to the end, and you’re really excited. But then you realize you’re missing a piece-probably one of the kids ate it. You’re missing a piece; you don’t know where it is, and it’s so frustrating. And that’s the way it is in life sometimes: you know you’re trying to put the puzzle together, and you believe God’s up to something great, but then there are some missing pieces, and you can’t tell what He’s up to. You just have to trust that He’s still putting the pieces together, or you’ll lose your peace. You’ve got to realize that He’s still putting the puzzle together, and sometimes in life, you only have one piece of the puzzle, and you have no idea what God is doing. That’s when you just have to realize that all the pieces haven’t come together yet. But one day you’ll see that He’s still putting the pieces together. He’s a loving Heavenly Father who’s going to put all the pieces together into a beautiful picture; you just can’t see it yet.
You have to come to the place of acceptance, to trust Him that He knows what He’s doing because that acceptance leads to peace, and the key to acceptance is trust. I’m sure you know the Serenity Prayer, or you know the first three lines of the Serenity Prayer. But did you know the Serenity Prayer has been edited? The first three lines are great, but the last part of the prayer is the most powerful part of the prayer. Now I want us to look at it: «God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.» Now that’s the part that we know, but it goes on. «Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking as Jesus did this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.»
Did you get that? Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. Folks, we ought to try to change the things that we can change. We ought to pray for God to work miracles and take problems out of our lives, and He’ll do that so many times. But when He doesn’t, we have to say, «God, I accept that this must be part of Your plan for my life-at least for now-and I know that I can trust You.» All the pieces haven’t come together yet. And then you’re flooded with peace. But usually, I fight God; I fight Him so hard when He allows something into my life that makes no sense, something that is painful, something that’s missing a lot of pieces. I wrestle with God; I struggle with God; I get mad at God, and it takes me a while before I finally come to that place: «Okay God, I accept it.» I tried to change it; I prayed for You to change it; I know I can’t change it; I accept that You know what’s best for me and this is Your plan for me-at least for now. And when I do that, I’m flooded with peace; I can finally rest in His power. Can any of you relate to that? I mean, some of you are there right now. You’re fighting God-you’re asking, «God, why? This makes no sense.» You wish you could go back and change it, but you can’t go back into the past and change it. You’re mad at God, and that’s okay to be mad at God; He doesn’t mind. Just take it out on Him; He can take it. Just pour it out on Him.
But maybe today it’s time to let go and just come to that place of acceptance. Say, «God, I don’t get it. I hate it. I don’t like it. But I trust that You are a loving Heavenly Father and this must be part of Your plan for me-at least for now-and I give it over to You.» I come to the place of acceptance because I trust You. That’s when you’re flooded with peace.
Well, the second principle I need to apply so God can recycle my worries and I can reclaim my peace is I have to expect God to provide. I’ve got to believe that God is going to provide for me or I won’t pray. I pray for and expect God to meet my needs. The next part of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:11 says, «Give us this day our daily bread.» Now, He didn’t say, «Give us our weekly bread,» «give us our monthly bread,» or «give us our yearly bread.» He said, «Give us our daily bread.» That’s because God wants you to know that He’s the God of the moment. He’s the God of the here and now. He wants to meet your needs in this moment. He is what you need in this moment, and He has what you need in this moment, so we can pray and expect God to meet our needs.
Now, in verse 9, it says «Hallowed be Your name.» God’s name represents His character. God’s name represents His character and His provision in our lives, and He has a good name. He has a good name, and you can trust His name, and you can trust His character and His provision in your life. Did you know God has many names? In the Old Testament, Hebrew: Jehovah Shalom means God my peace, Jehovah Jireh means God my provider, Jehovah Tzidkenu means God my righteousness, Jehovah Rapha means God my healer. But God told Moses through the burning bush, «The name I like best is’I AM.'» Moses, «My name is I AM.» He was saying, «I am your healer; I am your provider; I am your peace; I am whatever you need in this moment. I’m here to meet your need.»
There’s no problem so small that you shouldn’t pray about it. Some Christians, when they pray, they don’t pray about the little things in their lives that they’re really worried about. They think that’s not spiritual enough; they need to pray for world peace or some big thing like that. But they’re worried about something small, and God says, «You need to pray about everything.» If you’re worried about it, God wants you to pray about it because He doesn’t want you to worry about it. God cares about every detail of your life, and He wants you to pray about those needs.
So are you praying about your needs? Are you asking God to meet your needs? He knows what you need already, but He wants you to tell Him so you’ll know that He’s the one who came through for you, and it builds your trust. You recycle your worries through prayer. If you’re a really good worrier, you can be a really good prayer warrior. When the worry comes to your mind and you start getting anxious, just pray about it. «God, please meet my need here. God, I need You.» You know, I pray about this, and every time the worry comes to your mind, just say, «God, I pray that You’d take care of that. God, I pray that You’d steer them in the right direction.» You just pray about it. Every time you pray to recycle those worries, you turn your worries into prayers, and then you experience peace.
Now it says, «Hallowed be Your name.» This is so important because it means reverence for God. Hallowed means revering God and putting Him first in your life. One of the biggest reasons why we worry and have no peace is that we’re not putting God first in some area of our lives. Whenever I begin to worry, that’s an alarm that goes off in my life that says I’m not putting God first in my life-in some area right now. In marriage, if a husband puts God first and a wife puts God first, and God is first in their lives and first in their marriage, then there won’t be chaos, confusion, and constant conflict, because Jesus doesn’t fight with Jesus.
If you’re putting God first in your marriage, you’ll grow closer to Him together. But it’s when we quit putting Him first and push Him out of first place in our marriage that all the chaos starts. And in your finances, if you put Him first, you’ll have financial peace. If you put God first, you give back the first 10% of all you make, as the Bible commands-you tithe. Then what you’re really saying is, «God, I believe Your promises that You’re going to come through, that You’re going to fulfill Your promise to me, that I can’t outgive You. I expect You to come through.»
The real reason why we have our peace stolen away from us is that there’s an area of our lives where we’re not putting God first. Whatever area you’re worried about, anxious about, fearful about, you’ve got to ask yourself, «Am I really putting God first in this area of my life?» Have I pushed God out of first place? And worry is filling that gap. When you don’t put God first in your finances, when you don’t tithe, what you’re saying to God is, «I’m not sure if that part of the Bible is really true where you say that if I put You first, You’ll meet all my needs according to Your riches in glory.»
We can pray, «God, come through for me and meet my needs,» but if you don’t tithe, you’re basically saying, «God, I don’t think You’re going to come through.» I’m not expecting You to come through for me, so I’m not going to step out in faith and follow your Word, which activates the miracle. So whatever area of your life you’re worried about, are you putting Him first? Because if you’re not putting Him first in some area of your life, you’re going to feel anxious about it. You’re going to get worried about it. But you expect Him to come through; you obey Him; you pray about it, and you expect Him to come through and meet your needs just as He’s promised.
Then the third principle we learn from this prayer on how to pray and how God can recycle my worries so I can reclaim my peace is I have to live in forgiveness. The next part of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:12 says, «And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.» So I have to receive forgiveness from God, make peace with God, and turn to Him and receive His forgiveness; then I have to give forgiveness to others, because bitterness allows the thief to break in and bankrupt my peace. Some of you need to forgive someone today-someone who’s wounded you deeply, someone who has hurt you, and you’re holding on to that hurt, and it’s turned into bitterness. Bitterness has blocked God’s recycling process and stolen your peace of mind, and it’s time for you today to choose to forgive. To say, «God, I choose to forgive them for my own sake and because You command me to,» and that’s when you’ll be flooded with peace.
Bitterness causes all kinds of problems in our lives, even physical problems. When you hold on to bitterness, it’s like a cancer that eats away at you, but it doesn’t do anything to the person toward whom you’re bitter; you’re just hurting yourself. Whether you feel like it or not, you pray and you say, «God, I choose by Your power to forgive that person. I don’t feel like it, but I choose to do it and obey You.» You’re not letting them off the hook, because God will one day settle the score, so leave it with Him. But for your own sake, choose to forgive, and then you’ll be flooded with peace. Many times, you’re flooded with healing-emotional healing, healing in your heart and mind, spiritual healing, physical healing at times. I believe that’s where some of you are today; you need to choose to forgive. You’re holding on to that bitterness, and it’s only hurting you, and God can’t recycle those anxieties and fears while bitterness is raging in your life. It’s time for you to forgive; it’s time for you to choose to forgive today.
But then there’s a fourth principle in this prayer on how I cooperate with God to recycle all my worries into peace, and that’s to fight the real enemy. Look at the next part of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:13: «And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.» It’s saying stop fighting the person you’re in conflict with and start fighting the real enemy, Satan. How do you fight the battle? How do you fight the enemy? On your knees in prayer. For those of you who are married, you need to fight for your marriage in prayer. For those of you who are parents, you need to fight for your kids in prayer. Have you ever fought for your kids in prayer? Some of you are really worried about your teenager who’s going through struggles and going through some real problems right now, and you’ve lost all your peace. But you haven’t really prayed about it. Whenever you’re filled with anxiety and worry, the Scripture says pray. Fight the battle and pray. Have you really fought for your kids? Are you praying for them? Are you praying for your family? Are you praying for your church? Are you fighting the battle?
I remember when my daughter Megan was entering high school and she was trying out for cheerleader, and Chris and I had been praying, «God, help her get into a group of friends that You want her to get into, maybe where she can be a witness, or where there are some friends that are going in the right direction that are Christ followers so she can go in that direction with.» We were praying for her, and Chris, on tryout day, drove up to the school and just sat out there and prayed all through the tryout. He was praying, «Lord, if it’s not Your will for Megan, don’t let her make it, and if it is Your will, let her make it. You know, see her through, be her peace through it all no matter what happens.»
Just something that seems little maybe, but it’s really big to your kid, and it’s really important. You pray for those things. You fight the battle in prayer. And for some of you men, it’s time for you to start praying because you’ve been too busy to pray, or you’re saying, «That’s not my thing. I’m not really great at the spiritual things; I leave that to my wife. I’m not really good at prayer. I’m pretty good at golf, good at business, but prayer-» It’s time for you to fight for your family! It’s time for you to get on your knees and fight like a man, because that’s how you do it.
Have you spent 10 minutes praying for your kids and what they’re going through? We spend a lot of time worrying and stressing about all these problems that we cannot change and people we can’t change, but are we praying? Are we fighting the battle? God really impressed on my heart this next promise, because it’s for somebody-somebody who desperately needed to hear this in Exodus 14:14: «The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.» God says to someone today, «You don’t have to fight this battle! Stop trying to fight this battle; stop trying to change the circumstance. God says, 'I’ve got this one; I’m going to take care of this. I’ve got this one; I’m going to fight the battle for you! '»
And some translations say, «The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent.» That’s pretty good, isn’t it? You don’t have to defend yourself. God says, «I’m going to take care of this one; just trust me in prayer.» Some of you have a battle that you know you’re going to face tomorrow; I don’t know what it is, but God knows what it is, and He’s saying to you today, «I’m going to fight this one for you; don’t worry-I’m going before you, and I’m going to fight this battle for you, and you’re not going to lose your peace.» You’re going to hold on to your peace because I’m fighting for you.
Well, there’s a fifth principle, maybe the most important, that I have to practice so God can recycle my worries into peace, and that’s that I have to surrender control to the Prince of Peace. Because really, worry is a control issue. It’s trying to control things I was never meant to control. I’ve got to get to the place where I wave the white flag of surrender and say, «God, I can’t control that problem. I can’t control that person. I can’t control the situation. I surrender; I give up, but I give it over to You.»
And when I wave the white flag of surrender, then God fills me with peace. That’s why Matthew 6:13, the last part of the Lord’s Prayer, says this: «For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.» I have to come to the place where I say, «God, You’re the only one who has the power to really change this situation. God, You’re the only one who has the real power. You’re the only one who deserves the real glory. You’re the only one who’s really in control. I’m sorry for trying to control; I give up and give it over to You so that You can do something about it,» and then I’m flooded with peace.
And there is only one true, authentic peace, and it comes from God. It’s a gift. You can’t work it up. You can’t earn it. It’s not about your outward circumstances. Things can be crazy all around you; war can be all around you, and you could be at peace on the inside because it is a gift from God. In John 14:27, Jesus says this to us today: «I’m leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give, so don’t be troubled or afraid.» Jesus said, «I’m leaving you, if you’re a Christ follower, with a gift-peace of mind and heart.»
And it’s a gift! It’s a gift that was stolen away by the enemy in the Garden of Eden, and Jesus Christ claimed it. He died on the cross and rose again to reclaim that peace so we can have peace with God and so we can have peace in the middle of our circumstances. He reclaimed your stolen peace, but you have to receive it; you have to accept it; you have to claim what’s rightfully yours as a Christ follower. You have to let God recycle your worries and reclaim the peace that is yours. It’s a gift you can’t earn or deserve, just like salvation. But you can reclaim it, and you can experience it, and it’s a peace that passes all understanding. It’s a peace the world will never be able to get because it only comes from God. It’s a peace that will carry you through all the problems and all the days of your life if you reclaim it and you surrender to God.
You know, there have been very, very few years in the history of humankind without peace in the world-very few. I mean, there’s always been wars, wars, and wars, and then there’s peace, and then everybody comes together and says, «There’ll never be another war.» Then there’s a worse war! There are always wars- little wars, big wars, everywhere. Why is that? Because there will never be peace on earth until the Prince of Peace rules and reigns on this earth when He returns and sets up His kingdom-a new heaven and a new earth. And then there will be peace on earth when the Prince of Peace reigns, and He rules. And there will never be peace in your heart until the Prince of Peace rules and reigns in your heart. There will never be peace in your marriage until the Prince of Peace rules and reigns in your marriage. There will never be peace until the Prince of Peace is in first place.
Have you allowed the Prince of Peace to rule and reign in your heart? Let’s pray together. Dear Lord, I pray right now in this moment that You would just help us give our worries to You. I hold on to them, Lord, and they come back to my mind, and then I stress. But Lord, help me to recycle those worries by praying and just surrendering them to You and expecting You to meet my needs, Lord. I just pray right now for all of us, Lord, who are going through some things that we can’t change, that we’ve tried to change, that we’ve prayed for You to take out of our lives and You haven’t yet. Help us come to that place of acceptance where we go, «God, I just accept it because I know this is part of Your plan for me, because You’re a loving Heavenly Father, and everything that You allow in my life is for Your glory and my ultimate good.»
But I can’t see it right now; I don’t like it, but I know for right now, it’s part of Your plan for me. So I just accept that You are my loving Heavenly Father; I trust You, and Lord, flood us with peace. I pray for those, Lord, who are feeling so anxious today. Maybe they’ve got a bad medical report, or maybe it’s just a problem at work, in their business, or maybe it is a teenager, Lord, going in the wrong direction. I pray that You would just give them peace today to know that You’re in control, that Your plan hasn’t come to fruition yet, and all the pieces of the puzzle aren’t together yet.
And then, Lord, I pray for those who need to forgive that they would do that right now in this moment-that they would just say, «Silly, Lord, I choose to forgive them.» Not because I feel like it, but because You command me to-for my own sake. Fill me with peace and healing. And I pray for those, Lord, who’ve never made peace with You; they’re at war with You because they’ve never received Your peace, that they would pray this prayer silently to You: «Jesus Christ, I want to make peace with You. I surrender, and I ask You to forgive me of all my sins. Come into my life. Give me a fresh start. Help me grow in my faith. I accept Your forgiveness, Your free gift of salvation, and Your free gift of heaven one day. Be the Lord of my life. I surrender to Your plan.» In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.