KS: Hey everybody, welcome to our “Because of Bethlehem” video series. My name is Kendra
Schwarz and I am joined by Melissa Taylor.
MT: Hi everybody.
KS: And our friend, Max Lucado.
ML: Hello, hello.
KS: Max, you are the author of our online Bible study, “Because of Bethlehem” and
we are in week two, we’re covering chapters four to six this week. This week we're talking
all about anxiety.
MT: Yep, we talk about it a little bit. We sure do.
KS: Anybody else struggle with that?
MT: Hello.
KS: 100%. Yes.
MT: Yeah, really do. You know, Max wrote a book called “Anxious for Nothing”, which
we did in Online Bible Studies a few years ago.
KS: Yeah.
MT: This is actually our third Online Bible Studies...
KS: Yes.
MT: ...with Max Lucado. We did “Before Amen” and then “Anxious for Nothing”, but in
“Anxious for Nothing” one of the things I remember is that the United States, which
is where we live, is the most anxious nation in the world.
KS: I believe it.
MT: Well I don't want to live in the most anxious nation in the world.
KS: No, that’s not something you want.
MT: Do you know what I mean? Do you know what I mean? But we don't have to live, we don't
have to be anxious because we live in the most anxious nation, right?
KS: Very good.
MT: Right. But you know anxiety can rob you of your peace. It can steal your hopes of
a beautiful Christmas or even really enjoying your life, and it can make it hard to celebrate
some things and we don't want that.
KS: Right.
MT: We don’t want that. Max, one of the things that you write about in this book were
interruptions, and how interruptions come into your life they can bring fear. They can
bring anxiety. I mean it can be you could have plans for the day and get interruptions,
so your plans are out the window and so that makes you nervous that you're not going to
get everything done you needed to do. Or you talk about something more seriously in your
book where your daughter lost a child that she was carrying around Christmastime, and
you know every Christmas a lot of times I’ll think, wow, we lost a relative last Christmas
or if there’s anything that happened it will follow us.
KS: Yeah.
MT: It could bring you down at Christmas. And those interruptions can get the best of
you and I love that you address that in the book. But what exactly were you thinking?
Like why did you decide in this book about Jesus and all that He brings, why did you
bring up anxiety in this?
ML: Well, you're right about anxiety. This is the most anxious nation in the world and
anxiety takes its toll on us. It takes its toll on us physically. Our neck, our digestive
system, our thought process are all severely hampered by anxiety. What's interesting about
some of the research I found is that, yes, the United States is the most anxious nation
in the world, and the third world countries have a lower level of anxiety than the more
developed countries. We think with the smart phones, laptops and the advanced technology
that we would be more, you know, more at peace. But just the opposite is the case. In fact,
when people come from third world countries to the United States their anxiety level increases.
KS: Yeah.
ML: You would never think that but there's something contagious about this anxiety. So,
I think a person has to come up with a deliberate chaos to calm anxiety plan.
MT: Right.
ML: One of the things that we can do is recognize that interruptions are just part of life.
KS: Yeah.
ML: See anxiety happens because life doesn’t happen the way we thought it would. Anxiety
happens because life doesn't happen the way we thought it would. We get this image in
our mind that my life is going to be, and we get this picture, you know kind of a play-by-play.
We get this idea that my life is going to be, I'm going to have this type of marriage
or I'm going to be single or I’m going to work in this city or I'm going to live, I'm
going to have this career and that's fine. We call those dreams. That’s our vision
for our life. But it just doesn't always happen that way. You know this time of the year Hallmark
movies are everywhere right?
KS: Oh yeah, do you like Hallmark movies?
ML: Well I do but I can tell you what’s going to happen.
MT: They’re very predictable.
ML: They’re predictable.
KS: So predictable.
MT: That’s one of the reasons I think I like them.
ML: They’re so popular. Now get this. If I was going to make a movie, I would come
up with you know a template and just make it.
KS: It’s a great industry.
ML: It’s usually a small-town love story.
KS: Someone’s working in a bakery.
ML: Someone’s working in a bakery.
KS: Or a floral shop.
MT: Or they have to save the town.
ML: Yeah, that’s right. Usually there’s a real handsome guy, kind of like me, who
comes into the bakery and just shows up.
MT: Yes, yes.
KS: Yes, yes.
ML: You know we want that Hallmark life. But it's just not there. It’s just not there.
So, the story of Christmas is not a Hallmark story. I mean if we could somehow interview
Mary, the mother of Jesus, there is nothing about that story.
MT: That she would have planned.
ML: You can’t tell me that this peasant teenage girl in this tiny map dot of a town
had any idea, number one, that she was going to become pregnant before she got married.
Number two that was going to be a gift from the Holy Spirit that she would be a virgin
when she was pregnant. I mean, then that she would choose to go and live with her relative
for a while during her pregnancy. I mean it was just one interruption, interruption, interruption
after another. She has to travel during the season of childbirth from her town to Bethlehem
because the government, you know, conducted a census. They get there and there's no place
to stay.
KS: Yeah.
ML: And the baby is born in a barn.
MT: Right.
ML: I mean it's just the most extraordinary story, and it tells me that God comes through
chaos. God comes to us through chaos. So, when you're going through a time of chaos,
maybe it's time for us just to lower our expectations. Christmas has a way of magnifying life. What’s
bad is really bad at Christmas. What’s good is really good at Christmas.
MT: Right, that is so true.
ML: Kind of take a breath and said, okay, here is what I hope happens but Lord, I'm
trusting that whatever happens You can come through it just like You came in Bethlehem.
KS: Right.
ML: You know that's a classic picture of how an interruption brought the greatest gift
to the world.
KS: That’s so true.
MT: That is great. You know one of the things that you all our going to read this week that
you wrote on page 45, you actually referenced a verse Psalm 11:4 which says, “The Lord
is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his throne in heaven”. I am going to be honest,
when I first read that I was like, - this sounds so ignorant of me - okay how does that
bring me peace? I am looking for, you know, don’t worry about anything. Pray about everything.
You know the verses like that. Then the more I thought about it, I thought, oh yeah, who
is in control here. The Lord is in His temple. The Lord is on His throne and as long as the
Lord is on His throne - which is going to be now and forever - we don’t, I don’t
have anything to worry about. I can find peace in that alone. Now that verse, I have repeated
it often. Do I not?
KS: She does. She came out of her office door to tell me that.
MT: Yes, I did.
KS: When she read it.
MT: It’s really comforting thinking I’m not on that throne.
KS: Yeah.
MT: So why do I try to sit there. He’s on that throne. That was a big help.
ML: There is only one throne in the universe, right?
MT: Right.
ML: And it is occupied.
MT: Yes, it is.
ML: It is occupied. I think that God's sovereignty is the cure for our anxiety. An understanding
of sovereignty is a cure for anxiety. Anxiety happens when we think the world is out of
control.
MT: Right.
KS: Yeah.
ML: Anxiety happens when we think nobody is in the cockpit of this airplane. We expect
to get on an airplane there's going to be some turbulence. But if we saw the pilot when
we boarded the flight to know that somebody's there...
MT: Right.
ML: ...then we can at least say, okay somebody’s flying the plane.
KS: Right.
ML: Nothing could be more chaotic than to be on a plane and realize that there’s nobody
in the cockpit.
KS: Oh.
ML: So, what sovereignty says is that there is a being of great wisdom. A God of great
goodness. He is occupying the throne. I don’t know where we’re headed, and I realize that
we’re passing through a time of struggle, but I’m going to trust Him.
MT: That’s good.
ML: We want to know exactly what the future holds.
MT: Right.
ML: But we are never told that.
MT: Right, right.
ML: But we are told that there is a good God seated on the throne and I can trust Him.
KS: That’s good Max.
MT: Thank you, thank you.
KS: You gave us a lot to think about as we enter into Week 2 of study. So, everyone we
are very excited for us to begin. Also, we have a saying around here, which we said last
week.
MT: Right.
KS: Something that we believe with everything in us, that when you know the truth and live
the truth, it changes everything. Have a great week y’all.
MT: Bye everybody.