Posted on 08/23/2016 9:09:10 AM PDT by metmom
Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on (Matthew 6:25).
Gods Word commands us not to worry.
A story I once read reminded me that worry is like fog. According to the article, dense fog covering seven city blocks a hundred feet deep is composed of less than one glass of waterdivided into sixty billion droplets. In the right form, a few gallons of water can cripple a large city. Similarly, the object of a persons worry is usually quite small compared to the way it can cripple his thinking or harm his life. Someone has said, Worry is a thin stream of fear that trickles through the mind, which, if encouraged, will cut a channel so wide that all other thoughts will be drained out.
All of us have to admit that worry is a part of life. The Bible commands us, however, not to worry. To break that command is sin. Worry is the equivalent of saying, God, I know You mean well by what You say, but Im just not sure You can pull it off. Worry is the sin of distrusting the promises and providence of God; yet we do it all the time.
We dont worry about anything as much as we worry about the basics of life. In that regard we are similar to the people whom Jesus addressed in Matthew 6:25-34. They were worried about having sufficient food and clothing. I suppose if they were to try and legitimize their worry, they would say, After all, were not worrying about extravagant things. Were just worrying about our next meal, a glass of water, and something to wear. But there is no reason for a believer to worry about the basics of life since Jesus says He will provide for him. You are neither to hoard material possessions as a hedge against the future (vv. 19-24) nor be anxious about your basic needs (vv. 25-34). Instead of letting the fog of worry roll in, its time to let it lift.
Suggestions for Prayer
Rejoice in the Lord always. . . . Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Phil. 4:4, 6).
For Further Study
What counsel does 1 Peter 5:7 give?
Studying God’s Word ping
On a personal level, I’ve never been very good with money. I make plenty of it, but never seem to have enough, mostly through lack of discipline. I’d started praying daily for God’s help with my finances. Amazingly, things got much, much worse for me in regards to money. So many unexpected expenses, errors with billing departments, the list could go on.
I was very discouraged, and honestly, more than a little angry at the circumstances, especially with the level of prayer I was directing at my finances. I was hanging on monetarily by my fingernails. I began to realize that these “problems” being brought to the surface were the result of not being responsible in the past or present, and now I was forced to deal with them.
It was, and sometimes still is a very painful process. I’m still in “cleaning house” mode many months later, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Hope.
God works in ways we least expect, and it’s always the right way, not the way we wish it was.
I can see that the only way to teach someone to be responsible is to force them into it.
My son is not good with money.
It has no hold on him with is both good and bad.
Good because he’s not consumed with hoarding it, but bad because he’s often downright irresponsible.
Getting married and buying a house has helped force him into learning how to discipline himself financially.
Sounds like me. Hopefully I’m on the road to recovery
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