Tuesday, October 28, 2008

God’s Answer to Worry

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  (Philippians 4:6)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had specific things to say about worry and anxiety.  He said,

"So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes.  Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing?  Look at the birds.  They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them.  And you are far more valuable to him than they are.  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  Of course not.”  (Matthew 6:25–27)

Why shouldn’t we worry?  First of all, Jesus tells us, it’s because of the Father.  Our Heavenly Father is watching out for us. 

Jesus points to the birds.  You’ve never seen a bird sweat, have you?  Birds are relatively calm.  Certainly, the birds need to go out and gather their food.  They do their part to get what they need.  But they don’t worry about it. 

The point Jesus is making is that if God cares for the birds, will He not take care of you?  The answer obviously is yes, He will.

Second, worry does not bring about anything productive in your life.  It is a destructive emotion.  It doesn’t lengthen your life and can even potentially shorten it. 

The next time you are tempted to worry about something, channel all of the energy you would have put into worry and put it into prayer instead.  Say, “Lord, here is my problem.  I am putting it in your hands.  I am going to trust you.” 

That is not an easy thing to do.  But it is something we need to consciously do.

Copyright © 2008 by Harvest Ministries.  All rights reserved.  Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved. 

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to  www.harvest.org. 

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