January 30
Worry Works
Php 4:9 and the God of peace shall be with you.
We have briefly touched on three major causes of worry. In
the Book of Philippians Paul is not concerned over circumstances, people or
things and therefore has nothing to worry about. Yes, that sounds oversimplified, but it is
not. The process takes more than just saying to stop worrying over the three major
raw materials of our concerns. The book
of Philippians alone is not sufficient to give us all the tools to accomplish
what Paul outlines there. That is why we have the other 65 books of the
Bible.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto
all good works.
The Bible is filled with accounts of circumstances, people
and things and how God used them to teach people how to trust Him. If you are
familiar with the Bible you could think of several Biblical accounts of God
telling people to do something and they either obeyed and were rewarded or they
missed out on what God had for them. So
why do circumstances, people and things still trouble (worry) some
Christians? Knowing what God has done
and can do may be interesting reading but it is ineffective unless a person
applies those lessons to their own heart and mind.
Some Christians I fear are like the inner city man who was
in a cabin in the north woods. The cabin had a stove and a pile of wood but the
man was freezing. He wanted the stove to
give him heat before he gave it wood.
Some folks want God to give them love and patience and joy and peace so
they can start trusting Him. They are not willing to trust God first. They will not accept God’s way of doing
things. Trust and I will bless you. Do and you will receive. Believe and I will
supply your needs. They want the stove
to give them heat first and wonder why God is letting them freeze.
That is the message
in vrs 6 and 7.
Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God.
Be care full for nothing. Do not be full of care. Stop
worrying. Pray! Webster defines
supplication as asking humbly and earnestly.
Just take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. Tell God what you
need. Please don’t tell Him how to do it.
When I was in charge of the youth group in our church, some
of the kids at our planning meeting prayed about an upcoming trip. They asked
for sunshine, warm temperatures, etc etc. I stopped them and asked why they
were praying for those things? They said
because they wanted it to be a good time for the trip. I told them if that was
what they wanted then ask God that everyone will have a good time and don’t
tell Him how to do it. Just let God work out the details. It was cold, rainy, and windy on the trip.
The kids had a great time, laughing and enjoying the trip. God had answered their prayers.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Paul has given us the blueprint on how to be happy. Don’t let circumstances, people or things
take it from you. Those three cannot take your happiness. You have to give your
happiness away. Perhaps complaining
about your circumstances, grumbling about people and wanting more things has
become a habit and part of your character.
If you want to be truly joyful (full of joy) you will have to
change. The book of Phillipians has the
foundational ideas of how to get started to follow Paul’s example. The Bible is
filled with the building blocks that will enable you to trust God to help you
become joyful. It won’t happen overnight. Happiness is not a destination, it is
a way of traveling through life. It is a lifelong learning process that is done
one step at a time, as God reveals what you should do next. The Chinese say a
journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Please pause for a
moment to consider how you deal with circumstances, people, things and worry. If
you are an unhappy Christian here is the path to happiness. You just have to be willing to take that
first step. If you are already on the happiness pathway, may God bless you and
guide your steps.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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