In Chapter 3 of God is Closer Than You Think, author John Ortberg states that worry is the prime indicator that we, like Martha, are not living in the presence of God. Pastor Ortberg continues by describing the subtle and insidious nature of worry:
“Sometimes in our Martha moments we live under the illusion that worry enhances our ability to control the world. Somehow we feel that if we stop worrying about something completely, it really will go wrong. So we worry as if we’re still in control of something that’s actually completely out of our hands.”
We falsely perceive that worry gives us a sense of control and that letting go implies passivity, that we simply are resigning our selves to our circumstances. Jesus’ desire for us as we sit at His feet is that we are “active, choosing, risking, stretching and doing.” Since Jesus is present here and now, we can let go of our pretense of control. However, Pastor Ortberg emphasizes that the single most powerful step we can take to combat worry is not to rely on our own efforts, but to “seek to be covered with the dust of the rabbi.”
