Philippians 4:607
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.
Experiencing worry is a part of living. When we live as responsible people, we will experience some concern in our lives. In fact, stress/worry can cause a positive effect. Stress gets us going and adds excitement to our lives. Facing an examination causes a student to study, and learning takes place.
Have you ever laid awake at night worrying about things? I know I have in the past, and I probably will continue to do so once in a while in the future. Each of us has a list of worries with the potential of keeping us awake at night: job worries, family worries, health worries, and financial worries just to name a few. When we are shaken or confused, we get anxious with uncertainty.
In my life, I have hd my own particular worries list like when I was a member of Messiah Lutheran church council I found myself worrying about church matters. It was the start of fall and attendance was continually to down. That means the finances are down as well and also many aren’t being filled with the fullness of life through Jesus Christ. I also have observed many members with problems (death, sickness, faith issues etc.,), and I worried about them. We had some devoted council members, and I found myself worrying about them praying for them. Are they happy? Are they burning out? Will they stay on? Should we add worship service or have only one, and I worry about that change? And what should we do with our new monetary gifts? “The band just plays on”. It seems to never change. Today at a different Church my worry has changed but similar.
But you know life without some kind of stress would make us lazy, unproductive people. But I must add, I use to have doubt and blame everything in my life until I discovered that it rains on everyone once in a while and my worries are worries. When I discovered that worries are an example of control on my part I felt relied. Christian brothers and sisters these are stressful times in the church today I truly believe we need to take a deep breath and open our eyes and recapture our sense of who we are and what we believe as a Community.
So, my purpose in this article is not just to suggest we eliminate all worry and just say, “don’t worry be happy”, but to remind you what our purpose is and learn from the life of Jesus how to manage those times of tension. He has much to teach us.
Jesus talked about this subject in his parable of the sower (Mark 4). A seed fell among thorns and was choked out. Later he told the disciples that seed represented the Word being heard by a person, but the troubles and worries of the world prevented him from enjoying it and growing.
Worry can strangle us as well. It can harm us physically as we go without sleeping and stress out over things that might happen. A Greek proverb says, “The bow that is always bent will soon break.” How true that is for us. The person who is always under pressure will soon break into a million pieces. We get headaches, ulcers, and all sorts of serious ailments.
Worry can affect us emotionally as well. Being a loving person when you are tired and crabby is difficult. It can sour our attitudes and make us negative and emotionally weak. Author Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” We just find ourselves emotionally strung out.
Worry hurts us spiritually. It shrinks our view of God and his greatness, his bigness, and his ability to take care of us. As we get caught up in it, we stop maturing and therefore cannot bear fruit to honor our heavenly Father. He does not tell us to work at adopting more moderate views in our Christian witness. No, instead we are to remain strong, and steadfast to our faith so when those hours of constant worry come, listen to what He says in his Word:
"Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
As God makes us more Christ like, stress will not be eliminated from our lives. Instead, we will know how to handle those tough hours as we are drawn closer to our blessed Lord.
One last thing:
A weary Christian lay awake one night, trying to hold the world together with his worrying. Then he heard the Lord say to him, “Now you go to sleep, _____, and I will sit up.” That is the promise. Our Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is there for you.
So do not worry about anything. But pray about everything. Hand it over to GOD!
God Bless You and This Ministry!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.
Experiencing worry is a part of living. When we live as responsible people, we will experience some concern in our lives. In fact, stress/worry can cause a positive effect. Stress gets us going and adds excitement to our lives. Facing an examination causes a student to study, and learning takes place.
Have you ever laid awake at night worrying about things? I know I have in the past, and I probably will continue to do so once in a while in the future. Each of us has a list of worries with the potential of keeping us awake at night: job worries, family worries, health worries, and financial worries just to name a few. When we are shaken or confused, we get anxious with uncertainty.
In my life, I have hd my own particular worries list like when I was a member of Messiah Lutheran church council I found myself worrying about church matters. It was the start of fall and attendance was continually to down. That means the finances are down as well and also many aren’t being filled with the fullness of life through Jesus Christ. I also have observed many members with problems (death, sickness, faith issues etc.,), and I worried about them. We had some devoted council members, and I found myself worrying about them praying for them. Are they happy? Are they burning out? Will they stay on? Should we add worship service or have only one, and I worry about that change? And what should we do with our new monetary gifts? “The band just plays on”. It seems to never change. Today at a different Church my worry has changed but similar.
But you know life without some kind of stress would make us lazy, unproductive people. But I must add, I use to have doubt and blame everything in my life until I discovered that it rains on everyone once in a while and my worries are worries. When I discovered that worries are an example of control on my part I felt relied. Christian brothers and sisters these are stressful times in the church today I truly believe we need to take a deep breath and open our eyes and recapture our sense of who we are and what we believe as a Community.
So, my purpose in this article is not just to suggest we eliminate all worry and just say, “don’t worry be happy”, but to remind you what our purpose is and learn from the life of Jesus how to manage those times of tension. He has much to teach us.
Jesus talked about this subject in his parable of the sower (Mark 4). A seed fell among thorns and was choked out. Later he told the disciples that seed represented the Word being heard by a person, but the troubles and worries of the world prevented him from enjoying it and growing.
Worry can strangle us as well. It can harm us physically as we go without sleeping and stress out over things that might happen. A Greek proverb says, “The bow that is always bent will soon break.” How true that is for us. The person who is always under pressure will soon break into a million pieces. We get headaches, ulcers, and all sorts of serious ailments.
Worry can affect us emotionally as well. Being a loving person when you are tired and crabby is difficult. It can sour our attitudes and make us negative and emotionally weak. Author Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” We just find ourselves emotionally strung out.
Worry hurts us spiritually. It shrinks our view of God and his greatness, his bigness, and his ability to take care of us. As we get caught up in it, we stop maturing and therefore cannot bear fruit to honor our heavenly Father. He does not tell us to work at adopting more moderate views in our Christian witness. No, instead we are to remain strong, and steadfast to our faith so when those hours of constant worry come, listen to what He says in his Word:
"Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
As God makes us more Christ like, stress will not be eliminated from our lives. Instead, we will know how to handle those tough hours as we are drawn closer to our blessed Lord.
One last thing:
A weary Christian lay awake one night, trying to hold the world together with his worrying. Then he heard the Lord say to him, “Now you go to sleep, _____, and I will sit up.” That is the promise. Our Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps. He is there for you.
So do not worry about anything. But pray about everything. Hand it over to GOD!
God Bless You and This Ministry!
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