Are you leading or are you worrying?

Ken Gosnell July 28, 2022

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Worry is a reality for anyone who is leading an organization. Every day in leadership brings new things to worry about. If a leader is not careful, they can spend their entire day thinking of things that have gone wrong, or could possibly go wrong.

Jesus is very pointed in a statement that he makes about worry and faith. He asks, "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?"

Worry is wasted time. Jesus makes the point that a person will either be full of worry or full of faith, but can't be full of both. For the person who is full of worry, they are spending their time in an unproductive way because they can't even add a single hour to their life.

For a leader to lead their organization well, they must decide how to leave worry and spend their time on the things that they can impact. Many leaders are leading their organization in worry, but they not leading their organization in faith.

Jesus continues his encouragement about worry when he states, "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!"

In the next few verses, Jesus will give the prescription for how to overcome worry so that his followers can live their best life even in uncertain times.

Jesus's prescription for worry:

1. Trust God's provision

Jesus encourages His listeners to "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."

In other words, God is in control of all things. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and it is His responsibility to take care of the things of the world. He knows what His children need and He will take care of those that are committed to His ways and His principles. Worrying for what God has not provided is of no benefit; but praising God for His promises is time well spent.

2. Guard your heart

Jesus next challenges His followers to "not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it." At first glance, this seems like this is something that a person should be concerned about—making sure that they have enough to eat each day.

Jesus' statement is more about the power of God than the need of man. God created man and He created the lillies of the field and He as the creator knows what each needs. The believer can trust God to give them their basic needs, just as the lillies of the field trust God daily.

The believer must guard their heart daily, because if they are not careful, their attention will be turned to the things that they think they need and they will not trust God to provide it.

3. Be thrilled with what thrills God

Jesus finishes this conversation with the statement, "But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."

Jesus does not want His followers to ever believe that they will not have enough when what they are doing is for the Kingdom. In fact, It pleases God to give the Kingdom to His followers and He does that through millions of provisions that He provides for them as they seek to honor Him.

Worry is a reality in difficult times. For the leader who sees ahead, worry can be something that impacts a leader's optimism and belief that God can do something amazing in the midst of something awful.

Therefore Jesus encourages and inspires his followers and those that would lead his followers to set aside worry. He desires his followers to trust Him so that even in the most difficult of times they find inspiration and hope. This is the kind of leadership needed most when times are worrisome and resources are scarce.

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Ken Gosnell is CEO and Servant Leader of CXP (CEO Experience). CXP is a premier coaching and executive roundtable business that serves Christian CEOs in Washington DC, Maryland and Florida. Ken serves leaders by helping them and their teams to have great experiences that both transform the leader and their organizations to go further faster. Learn More »

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