do not be anxious...
Written on 9/26/2008 10:11:00 AM by Miles
I've been feeling some stress lately, and I know that a lot of my friends are as well. Current times are tough, and it seems like one thing after another takes us down the road of panic and fear faster and faster.
Fear is a big deal. Anxiety is a huge problem in our world. I'm pretty sure I've experienced some sort of panic attack in my life. Paul said that God did not create in us a spirit of fear; but one of power and love and self-control. (2 Tim 1:7)
So, how come we still have it? It must be that in this fallen world, we are prone and conditioned to fear first instead of seeking the kingdom of God. Jesus told us in the sermon on the mount, which would be the moment in history that he unveiled, if you will, what the kingdom of God looked like. We can pick it up in Matthew 6:25.....
25"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Now, from what I've read, when something is repeated like this is in scripture, it's pretty important! Do you think Jesus may know our tendencies? I think he just might.....
The statistics are pretty staggering. Of all the worrying we do, it is broken down like this:
40% of worry is about future events that never happen
30% of worry is about past events that have already happened
12% of worry is about "petty" issues
10% of worry is about needless health concerns (which probably worsen health btw)
8% of worry is about legitimate concerns.
Of course, a worrisome person like me would say, "See, eight percent is real...". I think it paints a pretty good picture of how little control we have of anything in this world.
Look here at Paul again...he says this in Romans 8:35-39:
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36As it is written,
"For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered."37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, from what I'm reading here, we should not worry. It seems to be reiterated over and over again in scripture. Do a search of the Bible and see how many times the phrase "Fear Not" is said. *hint: it's a lot.*
Man, all I know is that it's hard to live this way instead of spending all of my days worrying about what's to come in life.
Does anyone else struggle with this? Should it not be a little easier to read these words and then rely on God to be himself in the midst of our worries, legitimate or (most often) not?
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