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Posted on 08/24/2024 4:06:12 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?
From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright © 1997. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.
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Studying God’s Word ping
This morning’s sermon by John on Noah and Methusela was incredible.
“You can’t change the past, but you can ruin a perfectly good present by worrying about the future.”
Pure BS! Yeah, don’t worry about where tomorrow’s meal is coming from, how you’re going to pay your bills, how you’re going to pay for your kids education, your taxes, your retirement...
This is the worst piece of advice anyone could give... and unfortunately too many people live by it, whether intentionally or not.
Worrying about things can be different than ignoring things that you know you need to get done.
Worrying isn’t procrastination. Or sloth/laziness. Or “its not my problem”.
Worry is often the precursor for getting off your ass. You relieve worry by doing what you can to solve the problem that’s worrying you.
This article seems to be saying, don’t worry God will take care of things by somehow solving your problem. If god wanted to solve your problem and had the power to do so he wouldn’t have given it to you in the first place, right?
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7
I think a lot of people understand that you need to do what you can do, and then, because you’re limited, you have to let God do only the parts that He can do. And trust/have faith He will.
I think a lot of people worry because they may not know or feel they’ve done what they can/should do. For me its not because I don’t think God won’t help me, its more that I’m not sure I haven’t forgotten something I should have done. Its knowing I am fallible and can drop the ball on things I probably should know/remember.
“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.”
If you’re a true believer in an omnipotent infallible God you should find the above statement utterly repugnant.
You’re ascribing human frailties to this perfect being. So god spend his time worrying about what you and I think of him? Is he that insecure? He’s worried about what we think of his integrity and whether or not we trust him?
This is truly a pathetic, insecure God if that’s what he spends his days worrying about. And on top of that he’s a vengeful God, he’s quick at dispensing punishment if you “direspect” him.
We are to god what an amaoeba is to us (actually much much less), and I don’t spend anytime worrying about what an amoeba thinks of me. Do you?
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