This is something that as Christians we know we shouldn't do, but somehow it just slips in to our lives. It creeps in unnoticed. Of course, we have worry under control in most areas. But there seem to be a few areas that worry is still allowed to dwell uncontested.
For some, it may be the upcoming election and the plight of our country. For others, their choice of college and a marriage partner. Or maybe it's something smaller like a college test or a job interview.
In the business of life, these areas of worry are sometimes left unnoticed. I encourage you to pause right now and identify an area of worry in your own heart. Be honest with yourself. I know that you know that worry is wrong and you don't like to see it's presence in your life, but identify it nonetheless. This is the first step in removing it from your heart.
Now that you have identified that area of worry, remember His promises. Remember Who He is.
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" ~Matthew 5:25-30
Our God has not left us alone. He will not abandon us and has not abandoned us, no matter how bleak and impossible the situation seems.
Of all people, the Israelites certianly had some justification in their worry while they were captured in Babylon. They were God's people, living in the midst of a barbarous nation, far from the land the Lord had promised to give them. Listen to this passage from Isaiah 40. You may have heard it before, but read it with new eyes, in light of your own area of worry:
"Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
'My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God'?
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength." ~Isaiah 40:27-29
The Jews were worried that their way was hidden from the Lord. And Isaiah reminded them that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of heaven and earth. His understanding is unsearchable. What reassuring reminders about the character of God!
When you're worried, remember Who God is.
He is greater than anything you could ever face in this life. And He is on your side! He is fighting for you! It is He Who has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." And He will always, always keep His promises.
Instead of worrying, pray.
Finally, when you are tempted to worry about your life or the state of our nation, pray.
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7
Let your requests be made known to God and allow His peace to sweep over you as you remember Who He is.
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