He then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed water in despair,

• Ezekiel 4:16

Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.

• Ezekiel 12:19

“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

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, 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, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

• Luke 12:22-31

The word “worry” is in the NIV 10 times.
The word “worrying” is in the NIV 3 times.
The word “worried” is in the NIV 3 times.
The word “anxiety” is in the NIV 7 times.
The word “anxious” is in the NIV 4 times.
The word “anxiously” is in the NIV 1 time.

I could have a very short quiz, although the question is rhetorical.

Why do we worry so much?

As for the title, I was true to the Boy Scout motto to Be Prepared. I was always looking for the worst contingency and making a plan for not just survival but success. My mother would shake her head and say something like, “There goes the worry wart again.”

Jesus told us not to worry.  This lesson about not worrying is in Matthew and Luke, and these biblical accounts account for eight of the 10 uses of the word “worry” and two of the 3 uses of “worrying” in the NIV.

The questions all relate to the verses that use the words in the NIV: worry, worried, anxiety, anxious, or anxiously.  The questions are given in biblical order.

The Questions:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Saul worried that his father, Kish, would worry about him being gone too long looking for lost donkeys.  He wanted to go home, but his servant suggested visiting whom?
2	Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind ____ cheers it up.
3	When Jesus sends us out in service to God, why do we not worry about what to say?
4	The Gospel of Mark identifies where the answer to the previous question comes from, but the context here is when you are placed on trial.  What is the source of the answer to question 3?
5	When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  In the quoted verse, what are the names of the parents and the son?
6	Why was Martha worried, when Jesus used her name twice, “Martha, Martha?”
7	Paul told the Corinthians if they were worried that they might not act honorably toward their virgin in whom they are engaged, what should they do?
8	Paul, who is in prison, is sending two people to the church in Philippi.  One is Timothy and the other is the messenger that the Philippians sent to Paul with gifts.  Who is this person whose name begins with “E”?  In sending back the messenger, Paul says that he (Paul) will be less anxious.
9	Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by ______ and ________, with ____________, present your requests to God.
10	Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  In the quoted verse, who do we cast our care upon?

I have written before about how my wife has spent all day worrying about worrying.  When she reads Matthew 6 or Luke 12, she worries that she had spent the previous week or so worrying about something and thus she follows that with at least 24 hours of worrying about worrying.  When I challenged her about her worrying, she said, “It’s a ‘mother thing.’”  I have learned.  I quickly changed the subject because she had used the words “mother thing.”  To husbands the world over, if your wife says “mother thing”, walk away or change the subject if you are trapped.  You will never win that one.

Bible References:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Saul worried that his father, Kish, would worry about him being gone too long looking for lost donkeys.  He wanted to go home, but his servant suggested visiting whom?	1 Samuel 9:1-6
2	Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind ____ cheers it up.	Proverbs 12:25
3	When Jesus sends us out in service to God, why do we not worry about what to say?	Matthew 10:19
4	The Gospel of Mark identifies where the answer to the previous question comes from, but the context here is when you are placed on trial.  What is the source of the answer to question 3?	Mark 13:11
5	When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  In the quoted verse, what are the names of the parents and the son?	Luke 2:48
6	Why was Martha worried, when Jesus used her name twice, “Martha, Martha?”	Luke 10:41
7	Paul told the Corinthians if they were worried that they might not act honorably toward their virgin in whom they are engaged, what should they do?	1 Corinthians 7:36
8	Paul, who is in prison, is sending two people to the church in Philippi.  One is Timothy and the other is the messenger that the Philippians sent to Paul with gifts.  Who is this person whose name begins with “E”?  In sending back the messenger, Paul says that he (Paul) will be less anxious.	Philippians 2:28
9	Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by ______ and ________, with ____________, present your requests to God.	Philippians 4:6
10	Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  In the quoted verse, who do we cast our care upon?	1 Peter 5:7

Not worrying is easier said than done.  In the two Scriptures from the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul says that his own anxiety will be less if the messenger that the Philippians sent him went back with Timothy.  Yet, in his concluding remarks, Paul makes the bold statement that we should be anxious about nothing.

These two statements are inconsistent, but they are not contradictory.  Paul is in prison.  He cannot go and check on things himself.  His only communication is by way of messenger.  Thus, he receives the message, and then he must compose his reply.  It can take an extended period of time for a messenger to arrive where Paul is living until he hears the results of what God is doing through the people of the Philippian church.  Note the latter chapters of the book of Acts and how the Mediterranean Sea could be stormy for months.

For one, Paul is not anxious about himself.  Earlier in Philippians 2, by a few verses, Paul states, “To live is Christ; to die is gain.”  Paul has his priorities straight there.  He is anxious for nothing with regard to himself, but he will wait with nervous anticipation until he gets word that the Philippians are thriving.  While this boils down to the same word, “Anxiety,” it also shows a little human weakness within Paul.  Be anxious for nothing, but if you are to be anxious, be anxious for God to be glorified and the church strengthened and growing.

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The Answers:

	Question	Bible References	Answers
1	Saul worried that his father, Kish, would worry about him being gone too long looking for lost donkeys.  He wanted to go home, but his servant suggested visiting whom?	1 Samuel 9:1-6	The Man of God, Samuel
2	Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind ____ cheers it up.	Proverbs 12:25	Word
3	When Jesus sends us out in service to God, why do we not worry about what to say?	Matthew 10:19	The right words will be given to us.
4	The Gospel of Mark identifies where the answer to the previous question comes from, but the context here is when you are placed on trial.  What is the source of the answer to question 3?	Mark 13:11	The Holy Spirit
5	When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  In the quoted verse, what are the names of the parents and the son?	Luke 2:48	Mary, Joseph, and Jesus
6	Why was Martha worried, when Jesus used her name twice, “Martha, Martha?”	Luke 10:41	Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and not helping her prepare the feast.
7	Paul told the Corinthians if they were worried that they might not act honorably toward their virgin in whom they are engaged, what should they do?	1 Corinthians 7:36	Marry her.  It is not a sin to do so.
8	Paul, who is in prison, is sending two people to the church in Philippi.  One is Timothy and the other is the messenger that the Philippians sent to Paul with gifts.  Who is this person whose name begins with “E”?  In sending back the messenger, Paul says that he (Paul) will be less anxious.	Philippians 2:28	Epaphroditus
9	Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by ______ and ________, with ____________, present your requests to God.	Philippians 4:6	Prayer, petition, thanksgiving
10	Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  In the quoted verse, who do we cast our care upon?	1 Peter 5:7	Jesus

Since you did so well or even if you did not do too well, here is The New Sound is Family singing Why Should I Worry?

And here is Jeremy Camp singing Anxious Heart.  Jesus is indeed the calm for our anxious heart.

And what about Tauren Wells singing and dancing to, Fake It?  God is real.  God’s love is real.  We don’t have to “fake it.”  The lyrics do not mention anxiety or worry, but they talk about the source of what is real.

The next song is Whatever Your Plan Is, sung by Josie Buchanan.  If we perfectly trust in God’s Will, is there any room for worry?

If you like these Saturday morning Bible quizzes, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Saturday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.