No Worries

There are numerous human frailties that the Bible deals with. Most of them rob Christians of the abundant life the Jesus promised. (John 10:10) One of these is worry. Jesus says it this way...
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry 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? (Matthew 6:25)  The first thing we see is Jesus dealing with human necessities which cause most people to worry. He finishes His statement with a question that we must truly consider, "Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"

To answer that question, one must decide who it is that is master of their life. Jesus tells us, "No one can serve two masters..." (Matthew 6:24) Although Jesus is talking about serving God or wealth it still applies to each person when it comes to worrying. Worry allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles as well as excessive concern or uncertainty over actual or potential problems. Although the following statement will probably not go over well with some, the bottom line is, for a Christian, worry is sin. Why? It is an actual rejection of God's Word as the truth and the acceptance of what the world or the devil say is true. When we think about it, the world is filled with the ways of the devil and Jesus tells us that, "...there is no truth in him (the devil). When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8:44) Trusting in what the world has to say rather than what God's Word says, not only promotes worry but again it is sin. We may want to deny that worry is sin but Paul tells us, "...for whatever is not from faith is sin." (Romans 14:23)

Jesus uncovers the reason why worry takes hold of the Christians life, "...O you of little faith." (Matthew 6:30) Well you may say "I have faith" and you would be absolutely correct. The apostle Paul tells us in Romans, "...God has dealt to each one a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3) But what have you done with the faith that God has given to you? If you still deal with worry it is obvious that you have not permitted God's Word to take hold of your recreated spirit, to grow your faith, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) nor have you acted upon God's Word, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves...I will show you my faith by my works." (James 1:22, 2:18)

You may be thinking, "well how can I rid myself of worry?" It is a training process that every Christian (if you worry) must work through. We begin with the obvious, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2); "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind." (Ephesians 4:23) Renewing our minds with God's Word will cause us to speak about our circumstances completely different. The writer of Hebrews says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23).

Basically, a mind renewed in God's Word, changes what we think, what we think changes what we believe, what we believe is what we speak and what we speak is how we will act. By giving the Word of God the dominion over our life, we will learn to confess and stand on His Word not the circumstances of life. This will eliminate worry because we learn to let go of our ability and trust in God's ability. We learn to place our faith in and on God's Word. In doing so we will do as Peter tells us, "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7) There is no sense in us worrying if God says that He is going to handle the problem.

Finally, Jesus also tells us that we are of more value to our heavenly Father than all the rest of creation and that the Father knows everything that we need. (Matthew 6:26-32) Take some time and meditate on this fact. You are of more value to the Father than ALL of creation. Mix this with faith and you will see worry flee as well as seeing the works of God manifest in your life. (John 5:20) .