Posted on 08/24/2021 12:47:57 PM 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).
To worry about the future is to sin against God.
Someone has said, “You can’t change the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future.” Worry does ruin the present, but even more important for the believer is to recognize that worry is sin. Let’s look at why that is so.
Worry means you are striking out at God. Someone might say, “Worry is a small, trivial sin.” But that’s not true. More important than what worry does to you is what it does to God. When you worry, you are saying in effect, “God, I just don’t think I can trust You.” Worry strikes a blow at God’s integrity and love for you.
Worry means you are disbelieving Scripture. You can say, “I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture. I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of every word,” and then just live your life worrying. You are saying you believe the Bible, but then worry about God fulfilling what He says in it.
Worry means you are being mastered by circumstances. Let the truths of God’s Word, not your circumstances, control your thinking. By worrying, you make the circumstances and trials of life a bigger issue than your salvation. If you believe God can save you from eternal Hell, also believe He can help you in this world as He has promised.
Worry means you are distrusting God. If you worry, you’re not trusting your Heavenly Father. And if you’re not trusting Him, perhaps it’s because you don’t know Him well enough. Study God’s Word to find out who He really is and how He has been faithful to supply the needs of His people in the past. Doing so will help give you confidence for the future. Allow His Word to indwell you richly so that you aren’t making yourself vulnerable to Satan’s temptations to worry.
Suggestions for Prayer
Review the four points given above, and confess any sin to God.
For Further Study
Read Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7. What antidote to worry do both verses give?
Studying God’s Word ping
I needed this message today, metmom. Thank you.
If God didnt want me to worry (and its such a sin) then he would not have made me a worrier. He wouldnt have given me things to worry about. I call hogwash on this one.
We all need this reminder these days.
We currently are really being tested.
Old country preacher:
If you can do something about something, then there ain’t no sense worrying.
And if you can’t do something about something, then there ain’t no sense worrying.
I'm failing.
I was praying about my tendency to worry once, and God showed me it was because I wanted to control things and I couldn’t so I worried that they would not work out the way I wanted.
And who better to control my life? Me who can’t do a thing about anything, or God who can?
And yes, He showed me I was not trusting God to work all things for good.
MacArthur is spot on and God makes no one a worrier any more than He
makes them a thief or sexual predator, or homosexual.
If Jesus commands us not to worry, but to trust God, then it is within our ability to choose to do so in obedience. You cannot blame God for your disobedience with the excuse of that was how He made you.
The understatement of the year.
It makes sense either way.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
I find myself failing, too. It’s just part of our nature.
I generally do not like articles on this topic.
most do not distinguish between being concerned, and actual worry. most also dont discuss planning for your future, being prepared, always be observing things going on around you and at larger scales, so as not to be caught unawares.
there’s basically a happy medium, and that is if you trust God, do what you feel you need to to be prepared and not be worried or afraid of the future, you’re in the sweet spot. being totally unconcerned is one bad extreme, being hyper anxious and fearful is the other bad extreme.
When you get to the point in your life that you accept that all that you have worked for and have is “ashes” and “dust” and it could all be taken away in a heartbeat - you finally don’t fear losing everything. It’s a hard lesson to learn, because folks work their entire lives to acquire “stuff” in a life that is short.
With Covid, a lot of people are having massive mental breakdowns and issues. The ones that have a “I’ve got nothing to lose” approach will thrive in this atmosphere for years to come since what is coming to our reality is pretty obvious to those who read Scripture.
Amazing how some Christians try their best to portray Jesus as a lunatic.
Whoever wrote the words in this post needs to worry about his own soul a little more.
AS long as we in this life, we are both sinner and saint. We will worry because we do not trust the Lord. This should point us to Christ and our need for Him. Recognition of any sin should always point us to Him because it shows us we need him.
Excellent post.
This is something I grapple with.
Good lesson- it goes along with daily devotion today (psalm 62 https://biblehub.com/commentaries/maclaren/psalms/62.htm )where Maclaren states that David said
“I WILL be silent before God”
He actively ‘commanded’ his soul to wait on God (in confident silence) despite all of life’s ‘screaming sirens’ blaring around him- vying for his attention. David had ot keep willing his soul to wait on God, because it is very easy to let life’s worries overtake our peace, and cause us to doubt God and become impatient with Him-
God doesn’t answer when the soul is beset by noise- He answers when our souls are silent before Him- silent and calm - where we wait instead of demand due to panic about life’s uncertainties- (At this point, this is where faith comes into it’s own- we take our mind off the troubles in life, and calm ourselves, and have faith in God- Faith is born of fear- for fear causes the searcher to calm themselves and learn to trust God)
Worry is natural- Calm faith that evolves out from fear is supernatural- God gives peace when we WILL be silent before Him.
This is a continual process, because the ‘spiritual highs’ rarely last very long at all- Life has a way of taking our minds off of God’s care- there are literally 1000’s of trivial matters that accumulate and eventually overcome us by causing us to lose sight of God’s provisions- This is the life of a Christian- highs and lows- but as we mature, we learn to recognize the 1000 trivial matters are trying to divert our attention- and we learn to get into prayer and praise and reach that calm plateau more often than we used to
We all do Really- it’s natural- It taKes a lot of training to learn to quiet our souls before God- We are so used to allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed by life’s troubles- we are just so used to it that it is ‘second nature’ to let it happen- We need to learn to make it second nature to turn to God and to recognize when it is happening-
Has worrying ever fixed anything in your life?
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