WORRY AMBUSHES

Jesus told His disciples, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  (Matthew 6:31-34 NIV)

It's a wonder how any of us ever get from birth to death at all, considering the number of "worry ambushes" lurking behind every tree on our journey through life.

Jesus spoke a great deal about anxiety to the disciples, mainly in respect of getting rid of it. Jesus' advice was less about struggling to put it out of our minds than about replacing it with something else until our minds are so full of the replacement that there is no more room for the worry.

That something else is God's kingdom and God's righteousness. 

-- Hilary McDowell in “On the Way to Bethlehem” 

#6494

ABIDING PEACE

“The Lord is near. 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.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”  (Philippian 4:5b-9 NIV)

True, lasting peace comes from [communion with God]. Peace is ultimately a fruit of the Spirit which comes to bear through an abiding life with God. Prayer isn’t a quick fix to deal with our fear or anxiety; it’s a lifeline that fuels abiding and brings us into awareness of the presence of God with us. In prayer, we surrender control, embrace our own limitations, and declare our dependence on and need for God.

This is why we are exhorted to pray when faced with anxiety. Not for instant results or solutions, but for deep communion with the One who Himself is peace. Not so we can experience a feeling of peace momentarily, but come to know peace personally. Peace is not found in the absence of anxiety, but in the presence of God. 

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with Anna Grace Legband

#6491

TAKE YOUR WORRIES TO THE CROSS

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  (Galatians 2:20 NIV)

What do we do with worries? Take your anxieties to the cross -- literally. Next time you’re worried about your health or house or finances or flights, take a mental trip up the hill. Spend a few moments looking again at the pieces of the passion.

Run your thumb over the tip of the spear. Balance a spike in the palm of your hand. Read the wooden sign written in your own language. And as you do, touch the velvet dirt, moist with the blood of God.

Blood He bled for you. The spear He took for you. The nails He felt for you. The sign He left for you.

He did all of this for you. Knowing this, knowing all He did for you there and then, don’t you think He’ll look out for you here and now? 

-- Max Lucado 

#6489

TRUSTING IN THE LORD

“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)

There are two things which are more utterly incompatible than even oil and water, and these two are trust and worry. Would you call it trust if you should give something into the hands of a friend to attend to for you, and then spend your nights and days in anxious thoughts and worry as to whether it would be rightly and successfully done? And can you call it trust, when you have given the saving and keeping of your soul into the hands of the Lord, if day after day, and night after night you are spending hours of anxious and questioning about the matter? When a believer really trusts anything, he ceases to worry about that thing which he has trusted. And when he worries, it is plain proof he does not trust…

You find no difficulty in trusting in the Lord with the management of the universe, and all the outward creation, and can your case be any more complex or difficult than these, that you need to be anxious or troubled about His management of you? Away with such unworthy doubtings! Take your stand on the power and trustworthiness of your God, and see how quickly all difficulties will vanish before a steadfast determination to believe. Trust in the dark, trust in the light, trust at night and trust in the morning, and you will find that the faith which may begin by mighty effort, will end sooner or later by becoming the easy and natural habit of the soul. 

-- Hannah Whitall Smith in “The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life”

#6279

GOD’S AMAZING GRACE

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 NIV)

Take all your anxieties to Calvary, Paul urged. Stand in the shadow of God’s crucified Son. Now pose your questions. Is Jesus on my side? Look at the wound in His. Will He stay with me? Having given the supreme and costliest gift, “how can He fail to lavish upon us all He has to give?” (Romans 8:32 NEB)

“’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” When John Newton penned this promise, he did so out of personal experience. His greatest test came the day he buried his wife, Mary. He had loved her dearly and prayed his death would precede hers. But his prayer was not answered.

Yet God’s grace proved sufficient. On the day she died Newton found strength to preach a Sunday sermon. The next day he visited church members, and later he officiated at his wife’s funeral. He grieved but in his grief found God’s provision. He later wrote, “The Bank of England is too poor to compensate for such a loss as mine. But the Lord, the all-sufficient God, speaks, and it is done. Let those who know Him, and trust Him, be of good courage. He can give them strength as their trials increase… and what He can do He had promised that He will do.” (From “But Now I See: The Life of John Newton” by Josiah Bull.)

Let God’s grace dethrone your fears. Anxiety still comes, for certain. The globe still heats up; wars still flare up; the economy acts up. Disease, calamity, and trouble populate your world. But they don’t control it! Grace does. 

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”

#6184

 

DON’T GIVE THE ENEMY A SEAT AT YOUR TABLE – Part 1 of 2

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”  (Psalm 23:5 NIV)

In less time than it takes to snap your fingers -- if you’re not careful -- the Enemy can pull up a seat at the table your Shepherd has prepared for you.

We’ve come to accept the Enemy sitting at our table as normal. That’s a big problem. We give him permission anytime we say things like, “Oh, that’s the way it is these days. Anxiety is just a part of the equation. We’re all anxious, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Life’s just so chaotic today. Of course we’re all strangled by worry. Look at the news feed. Why wouldn’t I be afraid?”

In the same way, we accept the false narrative about our lives that we aren’t worth much to God… or anybody else, for that matter. We think people don’t get us. Or they don’t value us. Or that they are flat-out against us.

Or we flip to the other point of view. We think we deserve more, so we allow envy and greed and comparison to cannibalize our God-given identity. We scroll our way through social media feeds determined to get what other people have -- or, better yet, to get more.

More stuff. That’s what we need. More friends. More layers of protection. More likes. Or maybe another table. After all, we all live in a corrupted culture, and we know it. Why stress over a little lust here, or a moment or two of pleasure there? Before you know it, you talk like the Devil and think the thoughts he wants you to dwell on.

That’s just the way it is, right? No! 

-- Louie Giglio in “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table”

#6140

EXPERIENCING GOD’S PEACE

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

Imagine never worrying about anything! It seems like an impossibility; we all have worries on the job, in our homes, at school. But Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers. Do you want to worry less? Then pray more! Whenever you start to worry, stop and pray. “If you do this,” Paul says, “you will experience God’s peace.”

God’s peace is different from the world’s peace (see John 14:27). True peace is not found in positive thinking, in absence of conflict, or in good feelings. It comes from knowing that God is in control. Our citizenship in Christ’s kingdom is sure, our destiny is set, and we can have victory over sin. Let God’s peace guard your heart against worry. 

-- Adapted from the “Life Applications Bible Study Bible” New Living Translation

#5941

ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.”  (Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT)

Do you need encouragement right now? My best advice to you is to go encourage someone else. Are you caught up in your own needs? Go fill the needs of others. You’ll reap what you sow, and the love you give will return to you.

But some people have actually told me, “I don’t know anyone who needs encouragement.” Would you like to know the best place to find them? In your church.

Fred Smith, a businessman, asked a church usher about his responsibilities. The man said, “Nothing more than being there, shaking hands, finding my place in the aisle, taking the offering, and showing up for an occasional ushers meeting.” Smith thought this didn’t sound very biblical, but he observed in the conversation that this man had a passion about the ministry of hospitality. So many people come to church filled with cares and anxiety, the usher had noticed, and they need a warm handshake, a listening ear, perhaps a hug. The man found his place to serve God quietly but profoundly.

This weekend, make it a project to go to church simply as an encourager. Ask God to direct your steps to someone who needs a dose of love. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down”

#5925

WORRY CHANGES NOTHING

“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.”  (Matthew 6:27)

Worry is irrelevant. It alters nothing. When was the last time you solved a problem by worrying about it? Imagine someone saying, “I got behind in my bills, so I resolved to worry my way out of debt. And, you know, it worked! A few sleepless nights, a day of puking and hand wringing. I yelled at my kids and took some pills, and -- glory to worry -- money appeared on my desk.”

It doesn’t happen! Worry changes nothing. You don’t add one day to your life or one bit of life to your day by worrying.

But how can we stop doing so? Paul offers a two-pronged answer: God’s part and our part. Our part includes prayer and gratitude. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done.” (Philippians 4:6, emphasis added)

Want to worry less? Then pray more. Rather than look forward in fear, look upward in faith. 

-- Max Lucado in “Come Thirsty: No Heart Too Dry for His Touch”

#5888

THE BURDEN OF WORRY

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”  (1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV)

Do you feel that your small anxieties, cares, and concerns cannot measure up to the world’s collective prayers to God? People are dying from flood, famine, earthquake, war, and fire; yet you worry about getting to an appointment on time. It seems almost presumptuous to expect God to care about your worries, doesn’t it?

Nevertheless, hear the truth of the Christian faith: God loves you. God has concern for your life. Your greatest triumphs, your smallest sorrows, God knows and cares about them all.

The scriptures tell you to “Cast all your anxiety on [God] because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). The key word here is all -- not only the big stuff, but also the little worries and doubts that assail you throughout an average day. …

God of love, I’m tired of carrying this burden of worry. I want to believe that You will take it from me, but I find it hard because ____________________. Today, help me to cast all my anxiety upon You. Lift me up if I stumble; forgive me if I fall. I ask this humbly. Amen. 

-- Patricia Wilson in “Freedom from Worry”

#5804

TRUSTING IN GOD’S CARE

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV)

God cares for you! Not only will He never leave you -- that’s the negative side of the promise -- but He cares for you. He is not just there with you, He cares for you. His care is constant -- not occasional or sporadic. His care is total -- even the hairs on of your head are numbered. His care is sovereign -- nothing can touch you that He does not allow. His care is infinitely wise and good so that in the words of John Newton, “If it were possible for me to alter any part of His plan, I could only spoil it.”

We must learn to cast all our anxieties on Him. Dr. John Brown says of this verse, “The figurative expression ‘cast,’ not lay, seems to intimate that the duty enjoined is one that requires an effort; and experience tells us it is no easy matter to throw off the burden of carefulness.” So we are back to the matter of choice. We must by an act of the will in dependence on the Holy Spirit say something such as, “Lord, I choose to cast off this anxiety onto You, but I cannot do this of myself. I will trust You by Your Spirit to enable me to, having cast my anxiety on You, not to take it back upon myself.” 

-- Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

DEALING WITH ANXIETY

Anxiety is an expensive habit. Of course, it might be worth the cost if it worked. But it doesn’t. Our frets are futile. Jesus said, “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it” (Matthew 6:27). Worry has never brightened a day, solved a problem, or cured a disease.

How can a person deal with anxiety? You might try what one fellow did. He worried so much that he decided to hire someone to do his worrying for him. He found a man who agreed to be his hired worrier for a salary of $200,000 per year. After the man accepted the job, his first question to his boss was, “Where are you going to get $200,000 per year?” To which the man responded, “That’s your worry.”

Sadly, worrying is one job you can’t farm out, but you can overcome it. There is no better place to begin than in verse two of the Shepherd’s Psalm (23), “He leads me beside the still waters.” 

-- Max Lucado in “Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Bear”

#5305

 

BRINGING OUR TROUBLES TO GOD

"Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].”  (Philippians 4:6-7 Amplified Bible)

We sometimes fear to bring our troubles to God, because they must seem small to Him who sits on the circle of the earth. But if they are large enough to vex and endanger our welfare, they are large enough to touch His heart of love.

-- R. A. Torrey


#4627

BEGIN BY GIVING THANKS

“The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to Him.”  (Psalm 28:7 ESV)

When anger toward someone who wronged you makes your sleep fitful and broken, try turning your mind and heart to prayers of gratitude. Begin by giving thanks for each good thing from that day; then move to the larger blessings of your life. When you refuse to pursue revenge and create less vengeful “movies of the mind,” you still may experience pain at the injustice of life. Life’s unfairness will continue to grate. You will know the price of refraining from retaliation. But you have begun to balance life’s harsh realities with its goodness and blessing.

-- Kathleen Fischer in “Anger: Minding Your Passion”


#4394

GREATER FAITH AND DEEPER PEACE

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

The expectation of an easy life from God has produced more agnostics and atheists than has any other false belief.  When people live faithfully but suffer pain and discomfort anyway, many turn from Christianity.  They never grasp that a healthy faith does not shield a believer from pain, but rather gives a new perspective on life and a renewed trust in God that lessens the pains of existence.  Each time a negative event occurs, God can use it to bring greater faith and deeper peace.

-- Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton in “More Jesus, Less Religion”



#4332

GIVE IT TO JESUS

“Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 RSV)

Whatever is worrying you right now, give it to Jesus and trust Him to take care of it. Let His peace replace your worry.

-- Billy Graham in “Hope for Each Day: Words of Wisdom and Faith”

#4258

AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

“Do not worry about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NRSV)

She wished she could be more like her husband. Nothing ever seemed to get him. He took everything in stride, and he acted as though he hadn’t a care in the world. She, on the other hand, worried about everything. She was positive that if there was something that could possibly go wrong, it would. She didn’t mean to be negative, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to be able to let go of her doubts and fears, but so far she hadn’t been able to.

It’s sometimes hard to realize that God gave us life as a gift. Many times it feels like such a burden. God never wants us to suffer unnecessarily. Part of the message that Christ brought to this world was that no one had to face problems alone. God is with us always. Another part of His message was that nothing on this earth is important other than our relationship to God and to our neighbor. Job, finances, illness, and a hundred other things create stress in our lives, but when compared with the bigger picture of eternal life, they are totally insignificant. As Christians, we need to learn to look at the world through eternity-eyes, rather than temporal-eyes. Our home is in heaven, and everything that happens to us now means nothing, so long as we have our relationship in order.

-- Dan and Nancy Dick in “Daily Wisdom from the Bible”


#4158

LEARN TO MONITOR YOUR MIND

Our thought patterns become as habitual as brushing our teeth.  After a while we don’t even think about them.  We get so used to bitter thoughts or anxious thoughts or selfish thoughts that we don’t even notice what we are thinking about.

One of the great barriers to a flourishing mind is sometimes called mindlessness.  My body is at the breakfast table with my family, but my mind isn’t.  It is ruminating over my problems -- a repetitive, anxious, dull, low-grade obsession with tasks and problems.  I am absentminded; my mind has gone AWOL.  Other people can tell I am not fully present because my face is less alive and responsive.  I talk less, and when I do say something, it is superficial and terse.  I don’t do this on purpose.  It simply becomes a habit of my mind.

The spiritual life begins with paying attention to our thoughts, which is why the psalmist prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” (Psalm 139:23)  God knows our thoughts better than we do, and He will help us learn what is going on in our mind from one moment to the next.

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want To Be”

#4133

CASTING YOUR CARES ON THE LORD

"Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you." -- Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

The word "cast" brings a picture of throwing or pushing away and that is exactly what we must learn to do with our worldly cares. Jesus can handle them. We sometimes give them a nice kick toward the Lord in a sort of ceremonial way, but hang on just enough to stay involved! We may actually be thinking, "Well, I can handle this or that myself;" and that thinking gets us into trouble. We try to fix, control or otherwise manipulate situations that we should have left to our Lord. Fling your cares toward our loving Lord and enjoy the freedom of living!

-- Rev. Gary Stone

#4115

FRETTING AND WORRY

"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 NKJV)

Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way.  Our Lord never worried and He was never anxious because He was not 'out' to realize His own ideas; He was 'out' to realize God's ideas … Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about that thing.  All our fret and worry is caused by calculating without God.

-- Oswald Chambers

#3754