Worship When You Worry

Would It Help?

In the movie Bridge of Spies, James Donovan (played by Tom Hanks) is an insurance lawyer who ends up in the middle of Cold War drama when he is appointed to represent Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance), an accused Soviet spy. If convicted, Abel faced the death penalty. 

When Donovan first meets with Abel to offer his legal services, he says, “I have a mandate to serve you; nobody else does. Quite frankly, everybody else has an interest in sending you to the electric chair.”

Abel calmly and matter-of-factly replies, “Alright.”

“You don't seem alarmed,” remarks Donovan.

To which Abel responds, “Would it help?”

On two other occasions, Donovan is clearly impressed by how unflappable Abel remains in the face of death. He asks, “Do you never worry?” Abel’s answer is always the same: “Would it help?”

With this response, Rudolf Abel models part of what Jesus taught on anxiety in Matthew 6:27, when he said, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Worry is useless—it doesn’t help the one who worries and it doesn’t change the situation that provokes worry.

But what should we do instead? If worry doesn’t help, is there anything that does?

Worship When You Worry

In his letter to persecuted Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire, Peter addressed Christians who were well-acquainted with suffering. (Some form of the word suffering appears 17 times in the brief letter.) In 4:12 he speaks of their afflictions as a “fiery trial.”

And Peter’s audience had legitimate reasons to worry. In 5:9, Peter writes, “The same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (emphasis added). Loss of freedom, possessions, security, and even life itself—these were not hypothetical concerns. These were real dangers that many were already enduring. The constant threat of loss would provoke fear, worry, stress, anxiety, and trauma.

So what did Peter call his suffering brothers and sisters to do? He called them to worship.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7).

Worship is the proactive antidote to worry.

Remember That God Is Mighty

First, Peter says to humble yourself “under the mighty hand of God.” He is calling those who are anxious and worried to meditate on God’s power. The “mighty hand” of the Lord is a frequent phrase in the Old Testament that most often refers to God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. 

“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 5:15, emphasis added).

God’s mighty hand refers to his powerful works of deliverance and his awe-inspiring signs and wonders (cf. Deut. 3:24, 26:8). The mighty hand of God is God’s power at work to rescue and redeem his people.

When we are anxious, our minds obsess over the certainty of doom and the impossibility of escape. Anxious thoughts are heavy and oppressive. Anxiety can feel like a physical weight on your chest that makes it difficult to breath. In those moments, what we need the most is to know that God is stronger than whatever we fear. What we need is to humble ourselves under his mighty hand.

Remember That You Are Small

The command in this verse is simple: “Humble yourselves.” When we consider the greatness of God, it is appropriate that we feel small and weak in a comforting and freeing way. 

Anxiety tends to rise in proportion to the responsibility we feel. This can be a blessing from God that helps us in much of life. Parents feel the weight of responsibility for a newborn, and that motivates them to stay alert and attentive. However, sometimes we assume responsibility for people and circumstances outside of our power. When we find we can’t control the world around us, anxiety intensifies.

Anxiety is frequently a form of pride—thinking we are more competent and more important than we really are. This is why the remedy is to humble ourselves, which comes when we worship. Contemplating and delighting in God’s greatness produces a humble sense of our own smallness. The feeling is similar to what happens when we stand under the starry sky in the middle of nowhere, far from city lights, or when we gaze out at the ocean as the surf pounds the rocky coast. It is difficult to think highly of ourselves in the presence of massive and powerful glory.

But wouldn’t a feeling of weakness make anxious people even more anxious?Anxiety is what we feel when we refuse to admit our weakness. Comfort and peace comes from knowing we are weak and God is strong. When we admit we are helpless, then we can finally let go of our arrogant need for control and certainty and rely on God.

Remember That God Is Good

It is good to know that God is mighty, but it is even greater to know that is good—that he intends to use his omnipotence for our benefit.

Tornados and hurricanes are mighty. Whales and elephants are big. Meditating on such things is no help to my anxious heart. So what is it about God’s mighty hand that is a comfort in our anxiety? Peter says that the way to humble yourself under God’s mighty hand is by “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, emphasis added).

The reason you can throw all of your anxieties—your burdens and cares—off of your shoulders and onto God is that he cares about you. That means his attention is on you. He is concerned for your good. You matter to him. The things you care about, he cares about too.

And handing our burdens over to God is an act of worship. It expresses our confidence in his greatness and goodness and glorifies him as the God who is mighty to save.

Conclusion

So whether we are facing everyday stress, fiery trials, or death itself, we have more hope than Rudolf Abel. He knew worry wouldn’t help; we know and worship the God who actively helps us.