Faith Overcomes Worry – Part Four

Matthew 6: 25 – 34

        Worry finds its origin in the painful events of the past,

        Its occasion in some physical weakness or need in the present.

        And its opportunity in some fear of an unknown future.

        Thus, the web of worry is seen to consist of three strands. It consists of past events we long to live over or try to live down. The second strand is the uncertain future regarding which we have no confidence. The third strand is the present which is paralyzed by absorption with our past and apprehension related to our future.

        It has been estimated that people worry about the following:

        Things that never happen  = 40%

        Things that can’t be changed  =  30%

        Needless health cares  =  12%

        Petty miscellaneous worries  =  10%

        Legitimate concerns  =  8%

        Mark Twain once observed, “I am an old man and I have seen a lot of troubles, but most of them never happened.”

        Our Lord said, “I will never leave you, nor” (Heb. 13:5).  Worry responds, “I know you haven’t yet, but you might this time.”

        Regarding the future, come what will — Jesus will come with it.

        The expression “good cheer” means to have “courage.” 

        Jesus said we should observe the birds and look at the lilies. The God who is taking care of them will take care of you.

        God spends more on bird food each year than the total U. S. Federal budget.  The world’s bird population is estimated to be over 100 billion and God feeds them all day long every day. He is not going to overlook you. God is going to take good care of the birds because He knows His insect world would consume the human population in less than a day were it not for them. 

“Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
I would really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.’
Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
‘Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no heavenly Father.”
Such as cares for you and me.”   Elizabeth Cheney

Faith Overcomes Worry – Part Three

Matthew 6: 25 – 34

        In athletics it is said that the best way to get injured is to try to take it easy, to reserve yourself, and not go all out. The same is true of the Christian. The Christians who live an O & O life, that is out-and-out life for Jesus’ will be admired even by his or her critics. The one the world laughs at is the one who tries to compromise with it.

        If we are going to have tribulation, pressure, there must be something good about it. What?

        An experiment conducted by the National Institutes of Mental Health may help our understanding. They constructed a large comfortable cage that could contain 4,000 mice easily with an abundance of food and water. They adjusted the temperature to “mouse comfort.” They put in four adult couples and sat back to take notes over a period of time. 

        Predictably there was a mouse house explosion. In two years there were 2,000 mice. Unpredictably, after that it was all downhill. In four and a half years, this mouse colony living in an ideal environment had died out. Why?

        The last 1,000 mice born were large and beautiful, but passive, withdrawn, and lacked initiative. They never even left their nests and refused to relate to each other, even sexually. In mouse utopia they dealt with their boredom by turning off. Without a challenge they lost their drive and ambition.

        The world’s pressure can be a stimulus to our spiritual growth if we allow it. It can be a matchless motivation. The challenges enable us to struggle and grow.

        To cope creatively the Christian must realize he or she is “in Christ” and “in this world,” and use the world’s pressure in a positive way. That is, as a stimulus to spiritual growth.

        Don’t be surprised by pressure, you are going to have it. The world is going to get you going and coming. It seems we are like the parachute jumper whose chute wouldn’t open. On his way down he passed a fellow going up and shouted, “Do you know anything about parachutes?” He shouted back, “No, do you know anything about gas stoves?”

        If you are going to have pressure you might as well use it to your advantage. Let it bring you resourcefully to Jesus.

        Don’t just acknowledge your inability to handle some issues, also acknowledge the capacity of Jesus to help you handle every issue.

Faith Overcomes Worry – Part Two

Matthew 6: 25 – 34

        Worry is savaging our society. It is killing our teens in large numbers. It is dividing families and disrupting homes. Like a guerilla warrior it slips into and divides them. It is something needing a Biblical answer.

        Jesus told a parable of a sower. Some of the seed sown fell among thorns. He said these are persons who hear the word “and the care of this world…choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

        The simple solution to the problem of worry is the application of Scripture to daily circumstances. Have you reached the point where you are willing to subject your mind to the authority of Scripture?  That is, are you now willing to obey the Word you say you believe?  If you will put your mind under the control of God’s Word, that means apply it, you will no longer have a divided mind. That means worry will have been replaced by stability.

        Christianity is not just a religious experience. It is additionally a system of interpreting the events in an unreligious world. 

         Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

        He has provided the potential of peace while warning of the certainty of tribulation. Therefore, don’t live in denial, expect it.

        We tend to be shocked when everything doesn’t go our way. It appears many seem to think that salvation is supposed to immunize them from adversity and exempt them from problems. Jesus made it quite clearly “you will have tribulation.” 

        The word rendered “tribulation” literally means “pressure.”

        The text notes that we Christians actually live in two spheres. One is “in Christ.” The other is “in the world.”

        To live “in Christ” means to establish a lifestyle based on His teachings. They are summarily spoken of as “These things I have spoken to you.”        

        To live “in the world” means to encounter the opposition afforded by a world order, not under His will. This world order puts pressure on Christians to try and squeeze them out.

        Jesus offers His follower’s a “faith dome” which is a defense against worry. In faith ask for His resolution of any issue that might attack you with the warhead of worry.

Faith Overcomes Worry – Part One

Matthew 6: 25 – 34

        Jesus is in love with you. Like all who love another He is concerned about your welfare.  He is interested in your personal duress and mental stress. Your central nervous system and peace of mind are of concern to Him.

        He, as our creator, knows that worry is to a human life what rust is to metal or decay is to wood. 

        Question: “Do your friends classify you as a worrier?”

        Medical science has closely tied worry to heart trouble, blood pressure difficulties, ulcers, thyroid malfunction, migraine headaches, a host of stomach disorders, and numerous other difficulties. Worry is not a disease but it can contribute to many diseases. Though it is not a disease, it is more contagious than many diseases. 

        A leading physician has stated that 70% of all medical patients could cure themselves if only they got rid of their worries and fears.  

        The word Jesus used that is translated “worry” is often translated “take no thought” is “merimnao”. It comes from “merizo” meaning “to divide” and “nous” meaning “mind.”   It means to have a divided mind. It is a mind divided between worldly attitudes and Biblical precepts. 

        Incidentally, the AKJ was written in 1611, and at that time the word “thought” meant anxiety, restlessness, or the penetration of fear which upset the balance of life and turned the entire mind into a mood of dejection and weary anxiety. The use of the word “thought” for anxiety is seen in the death notice of a queen of which it was written: “Queen Catherine died of thought.”  She worried herself to death.

        “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” James 1:8.

        Worry divides our mind, our understanding, therefore we end up confused and wishy-washy.

        Worry divides our discernment, therefore, our observations and conclusions are cloudy.

        Worry divides our feelings and as a result our emotions are unstable.

        These conditions can cause abulia, the loss of the will. A more common term for abulia is a nervous breakdown.

        Trust is the antidote offered by Jesus. In reality every time a problem arises Jesus is standing by saying “Don’t worry. I’ve got this one.” Trust Him, He has.

God’s Phone Number

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33: 3).

        God’s best provisions often come to His people when they are in the worst of conditions. The assurance of God’s attention to his needs came to Jeremiah while he was unjustly imprisoned. If most of us would engage in introspection we would see this principle is true in our lives.

        These provisions cascade down upon the faithful every time God is honored by the one praying. It is as though the “Lord of the Manner” opens the door to his treasure and welcomes the loyalist. 

        Not only does the devout heart yearn for God, God longs for the devout heart to call on Him. 

        You may not get the blessings for which you ask. Perhaps from God’s perspective He knows it would not really be blessings. We are not always good at translating our needs into words, and it is a mercy that God understands what we do want a great deal better than we do ourselves. Whether the specific petition is answered or not will matter comparatively little. In some instances the petitions are denied, but the purposes are fulfilled.

        God does not always give the thing we ask. Lord Bolingbroke, a prominent British statesman, said to the Countess of Huntingdon, “I cannot understand, your ladyship, how you can make out earnest prayer to be consistent with submission to the Divine will.” “My lord,” she said, ‘That is a matter of no difficulty. If I were a courtier of some generous king, and he gave me permission to ask any favor I pleased of him, I should be sure to put it thus: ‘Will your majesty be graciously pleased to grant me such and such a favor; but at the same time, though I much desire it, if it would in any way detract from your majesty’s honor, or if in your majesty’s judgment it should seem better that I did not have this favour, I shall be quite as content to go without it as to receive it.’ So you see I might earnestly offer a petition, and yet might submissively leave it with the king.”

        Such is the nature of the prayer offered with the spirit of “Thy will be done.” No prayer should be offered as an attempt to impose God’s will.

        We realize what we consider a need and think we know what it would take to meet it may not find it fulfilling. God acknowledges the need, but often knows that what is requested won’t meet the need. Therefore, He often says “no” to our specific request, but wisely fulfills the need in a different more fulfilling way.

        It has been suggested that Jeremiah 33:3 is God’s phone number. If so, call it now. He has invited you to do so. Don’t deny His appeal. He wants to hear from you. You will be amazed at what great and mighty things He can and will show you.