Pray and Praise
For you tarnish your life with much fretting. You spoil your walk with much worry. Fretting and worry crush the treasures that the Lord has to offer, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, confess your faults and your needs, and His peace that surpasses understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
Whether you like all that we have said, or agree with it or not, does not worry me; but I am concerned that we have come to Christ, to show that Christ in heaven is our Life, Christ in heaven is our All, and appointed to be so by God, and nothing here can take the place of Christ.
No, though sadly some believers do worry that they are not truly born again. Get once and for all the gospel truth ever firmly fixed in your mind and heart.. believe… just believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you are saved – forever. No, the majority of truths in Paul’s epistles are for the saved man or woman, so that we can live the life that is best for us, as directed by the Holy Spirit.
Godly Thinking
He had a Single Mind – in spite of all the problems and circumstances of life. He had a Submissive Mind – regardless of the way that people behaved towards him. He had a Spiritual Mind – where he set his heart on the right thinking. He had a Secure Mind – where worry and fear was replaced with trust and love. He had a Surrendered Mind – where each thought was captured and given to God.
don’t worry about anything, and just cast all concerns on Him..
or be double-minded and be disturbed. FOURTHLY: Don’t worry about anything, and just cast all concern on Him. Those that wait and hope and trust the Lord in all things are renewed in alll-ways.
If we went around rushing headlong into life in fearless ways we wouldn’t have to exercise our faith, so it’s normal and healthy to worry about that exam coming up..
He would have us live our lives without fear; without care, without doubt or worry. If we trust Him fully then we must love Him completely.. and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him 1John 4:16. What comfort is this.
Fear for today and worry about tomorrow are two of the greatest enemies of joy, and Satan delights to trip us up with circumstances that encourage such negativity.
Trust in God
The final snare is to permit the trials of this life to overwhelm us with worry, lest at any time your hearts be overwhelmed with the cares of this life. And the caution against the physical sin translates into a spiritual warning.
Strongholds that result in self-condemnation, guilt, worry and a life of defeat.
Surrendered Heart
Help and healing comes from total surrender of your entire being to the Lord..surrender of all and everything in your life – past present and future..surrender of all past, present and future hurt, guilt, pain, fear, doubt, and worry..
We allow so many things to crowd into our thoughts... and worry about the future.
until she recognised her sin of worry and confessed her foolish thoughts.
Worrying of things that may happen robs most people of their present peace and joy, but how frequently we are told in Scripture not to worry, or worry is fear.
a secure mind – where worry and fear is replaced with trust and love - a surrendered mind – where each thought is captured and handed over to Him.
Renewed Mind
You will, at last, discover that a life of depression and doubt and worry can be transformed, by the renewing of your mind – as you take every thought captive, and just believe His Word.
is the gift of His Beloved Son in Whom He is well pleased – so that we can be made adoptive sons, whom He also loves and loves so dearly! If so great a gift is forthcoming from the Father, He will not withhold the smaller gifts that are needed for our daily survival. Ours is not to worry, but to trust in His loving provision. His is to carry out His never-failing promises and His vow to you.
Be careful for nothing –Be anxious for nothing –Don’t be concerned about anything –Don’t worry about anything whatsoever, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto GodPhilippians 4:6
Care and Concerns
How often and how frequently our hearts are prone to worry and anxiety, fret or fear. How often our brow is furrowed with tension as the pains of life reflects in our face. How frequently fear of the future or personal problems divide or distract our hearts. How regrettable that cares and concerns of life should steal the Lord’s perfect peace.
Rest in Him
But God instructs us not to worry about anything but to cast all our cares on Him and to place all the burdens that we carry onto His strong shoulders for He cares for us.
Trust His Word
Worry can also mean: I do not believe that God can keep His promises to care for me. It’s casting doubt on the truth of God’s word – it’s unbelief in His promised provision. When worry is taken to its final conclusion – worry is effectively calling God “a liar!!” But He is our strength and stay.
Worry and Unbelief
To doubt and disobey the Lord – can even be construed as belying God’s existence! Worry can become such a fact of life, that our hearts declare that there is no God… Who loves and cares for me, because He is insufficient to take care of all my distress!
Precious Time
The time one spends on worry is precious time that had been lost to life forever and effort spent on worry is of little worth – for it wearies the soul and exhausts the heart.
Precious Privilege
But to be careful about nothing is to cast aside all the worry that destroys our lives. To be anxious about NOTHING means to cast all your care upon the Lord Jesus.
We are instructed not to worry or fret or be anxious about anything whatsoever.
Precious Provision
Worry and trust cannot coexist.
When worry and fear increase – so our faith in the Lord decreases.
And I know that as I have looked at many of the Lord people I have said, I wish that they did not need so much looking after; if only they would begin to stand on their own feet, and take responsibility, so that we need not worry about them any more, because we know that they can be trusted!
One of the things which is lacking in so many of us is this rest, or, to put it the other way, the things which characterize us so much are fret, anxiety, uncertainty, and all those things which are just the opposite of calm assurance, quiet confidence, the spirit and attitude and atmosphere which says all the time, Don't worry, don't fret, it is all right.
The emperor had nothing to worry about from this peaceful Person, and so he passed His verdict back to Christ's accusers: Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, 'I find no guilt in this Man.' He found no blemish in the Lamb of God.
he bewailed, Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.However, God in His grace gave this young man comfort and encouragement for the daunting task that lay ahead: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, were the Lord’s reassuring words to this young man, and before you were born I consecrated you.Jeremiah had been born into a 'priestly' family, from the tribe of Benjamin... but it was not his parentage, his lineage, or the dictates of a board of directors that secured his prophetic ministry; nor was he a self-proclaimed mouthpiece for the Lord, as so often happened in Bible times, and still happens today!He was called and chosen by the Lord... and those that are called and chosen by God for a specific task, are always sufficiently equipped by the Spirit of God, to complete the task before them.Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' Jeremiah was told by the Lord, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak.He was not to worry about being too young or inarticulate, or because of any speech impediment.
The Lord in His grace, stretched out His hand and touched the timid Jeremiah on the mouth and told him, Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.Jeremiah, like all those that are called, chosen, selected, or sent, was not to worry about the message he was to carry, because the words would be given from above – at the right time.
Having taught His disciples to pray to the Father in faith, Christ gives a long dissertation on the futility of fretting, the fruitlessness of worry, and the anxiety that is caused when our primary attention is on how we can provide for our own, temporal needs and necessities rather than relying on the Lord.
Through a series of beautiful examples, Jesus points out that both the birds of the air and the flowers of the field neither fret for their food nor worry about their clothing, but are graciously cared for by the Lord... a poignant reminder that God's blood-bought children are infinitely more precious to Him than pretty flowers or feathered foul.
But then followed an important lesson, that instead of futile fretting and needless worry, our principal thoughts and primary pursuit should be on the eternal kingdom of God and the righteousness that flows from Him, rather than seeking to provide for ourselves through the bankrupt dominions of this passing world system.
God in His grace invites us to live a life that is free from worry and devoid of anxieties by seeking first the kingdom of God and the righteousness with which we are clothed, when we trust in Him for salvation.
God knows that worry entraps the heart and fear fractures faith, which can cause a believer to spiral down into a pit of despair.
They worry that if they fall into carnality or go astray, they will lose their salvation and: Their last state will become worse for them than the first.
And so, He would privately address His disciples and explain the futility of worry, the importance of trusting the Father, their inability to address the issues that arise in their lives, and the need to develop a heavenly viewpoint.
Fear not... When the God of the universe, Who sent His Son to be our Kinsman-Redeemer and pay the price for our sins on the Cross tells us not to worry... should we not simply take Him at His Word and not fear?
Some say that you can remove yourself out of His hands, while others worry that they have committed an unforgivable sin, but on both counts this would be a slur on the character of God, for it implies that Christ's sacrifice on the Cross was not sufficient to save us and keep us.
We are exhorted not to worry about anything, but instead to pray confidently about everything.
We are to keep our hearts free from fretting and worry and this can only be achieved as we cast all our care and concern on the Lord Jesus, for He cares for us.
Worry has a detrimental effect on our fellowship with the Father, for as faith increases so worry is eliminated.
But if worry is allowed to bubble-up in our heart and ferment in our mind, so faith begins to falter and the enemy is given a foothold.
In worry, we talk to ourselves.
When we worry, we focus on the circumstances of life, but in prayer, we focus on our Heavenly Father.
Worry is self-centred and selfish and is rooted in the sin of unbelief, but prayer is God-centred and pleasing to Him, for prayer is built on a heart that trusts His Word and depends upon Him for all our needs.
False teaching, false prophecies, and fabricated letters - which were allegedly from Paul, had been circulated - causing these Christians to worry that they had missed the Rapture of the Church whilst believing that the Day of the Lord had already arrived!
How we love to fret and worry about this and that.
Indeed, I have heard it said: How worrying it would be if we did not have anything to worry about!
To be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication to talk to the Lord, in our own words, and in the quietness of 'spirit to Spirit' communion, to tell God what are our needs, to talk to Him about the things that so often cause us to fret and worry, and to thank Him for all he has done for us.
Were we to read this verse and act on it the moment that a worry casts a dark shadow across the portal our heart, we would neither fret nor be troubled, nor would we be anxious about anything.
Faith in our Heavenly Father and love for His beloved Son is our eternal protection, both inwardly and outwardly, while the blessed hope we have in our salvation will guard our minds from the wiles of the evil one who would seek to flood us with fear, ship-wreck our mission and ministry, and destroy our testimony, through worry of what is coming on the world.
It seems so unfair, it seems so unjust that those who seek after the wealth of this world appear to have a purse filled with coins, with little to concern their godless lives, whereas we have such a meagre portion and can scarce breathe for worry about provision for tomorrow, which enlarges into fear of the future.
This is a verse about the foolishness of worry and the faithfulness of God as our gracious Provider, but too often we worry about the things in this life.
We can worry about our finances, our families, and our futures, our reputation, and our relationships, and yet the Lord points out the futility of worry – for if He provides for the little birds, how much more will He provide for those that are His children?
Some people quite like to have something to fret about and are even worried if they find they have nothing to worry them!
But there is a serious side to worrying about the needs and necessities of our everyday life, for in God's economy worry is a sin – the sin of unbelief.
Worry can morph in to dissatisfaction and discontent, and can even develop into murmuring complaints against the Lord.
When we are faced with a 'worry' let us simply claim His promises of provision, His support, and sufficiency, for all His promises are 'yes' and 'amen' in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The liberty that we have in the Church dispensation causes some believers to worry that Christians who do not have a series of do's and don'ts to comply with in the Christian life, are likely to think that our liberty is a licence to sin.
Not only did Jesus instruct them: Let not your heart be troubled, but He gave them tools to keep them from worry and fear, and it all comes back to FAITH.
But the Lord Jesus, in this extended dialogue to His followers, warns of the foolishness of fretting and futility of worry, for it results in a fruitless and defeated life.
However, the Lord's warning is of even greater significance, for to embrace worry instead of casting all our burdens upon the Lord, demonstrates a serious lack of faith in God's Word.
Despite witnessing God's miraculous hand of blessing through Christ's Word and witness, their hearts were filled with worry and doubt.
Worry is needless and wrong.
Worry is futile and destructive.
Worry discredits God and demonstrates unbelief.
Worry in a single word is 'sin'.
Worry is not only an ungodly state of mind that is often triggered by circumstances of life, but is also a choice of the will, where we imagine the worst scenario, which gives birth to mental imbalance and a restless heart.
Worry too often triggers physical illness and spiritual frailty.
Worry is an incubator for depression and discouragement, and should be shunned.
The Lord Jesus had just told a number of parables to illustrate the futility of worry and the wisdom in maintaining an eternal perspective throughout the ordeals of life, which we all inevitably face, which is why He said to His disciples: For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
The lilies are clothed and the birds are fed, and yet so often we, who are made in His image and likeness and have been adopted into His heavenly family, fret and worry about many things that should be handed to the Lord in prayer.
But Jesus spent some considerable time instructing His disciples to trust Him and not to worry about the things we need in life.
May we call to mind the wisdom of Paul, who faced every kind of disaster and difficulty in life, and refused to translate it in to worry, but wrote in his epistle to the Romans: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
This passage exposes the attitude of the majority, where a passion to accumulate wealth and the desire for more possessions, not only gives birth to greed and selfishness, but causes us to worry about things we need, strive for things we desire, crave things we want and fight to gain more 'things' in the roundabout of life.
Worry is a fruitless exercise and too often has a detrimental effect on home-life and health, for anxious thoughts cannot achieve anything and are likely to increase fretfulness, spawn fear, and cause illnesses.
Jesus lived a life encompassed by problems and perplexities, sorrow and scorn, disappointments and disease, rejection, hatred, and contempt, but He lived an exemplary life that was free from worry.
Why was the Lord Jesus free from worry?
Potential worry was overtaken by an unfeigned dependence on God.
Rather than permitting our minds to be dragged down into the miry clay of the world, through fretful worry and anxious thoughts, we should take every thought captive to Christ and allow our hearts to ascend into heavenly places in Him, knowing that His way always turns out for the best, especially when it differs from our own objectives!
Rather than permitting worry to darken our heart and cloud our mind we should look to Jesus and seek our Saviour with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength - for He is not only our Redeemer and King but is the personification and embodiment of all that is the Kingdom of Heaven, for Christ is all in all.
Let us seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, by seeking Christ and setting the eyes of our heart on the beauty of the Lord Jesus and trusting Him in every circumstance of Life, even when we don't understand, for in so doing, the worry of the world will be replaced with the wisdom of the WORD, as our mind rests in Him.
If anxiety or worry causes a man to be controlled or restricted by his circumstances, or if he seeks to escape the consequences of life's pressures by committing some sort of evil act, then that man sets a trap for himself.
Reverence for the Lord brings with it wisdom and strength, hope and joy, while esteem for fallen man too often entraps the soul and is accompanied by anxiety and worry.
'There is no need to worry,' were His reassuring words. 'Since I'm going away to prepare a place for you in my Father's house, it means that I am going to come back again for you so that I can welcome you into My presence in glory - and then you will be with Me forever.' Christ's condition for leaving was that He was also returning.
Like this generation of Israelites, we too can miss out on living a victorious and productive life, or we can end up with a wasted life of worry and unbelief that discredits the Lord.
Without faith, it is impossible to please Him and one of the biggest demonstrations of a lack of faith is worry... which is why Jesus concluded by addressing the issue of fretfulness and fear, anxiety and worry.
we need to take to heart this warning about worry and address this issue in each of our lives.
Financial and relational difficulties often rise up to cause a Christian to worry.
Too often it is fretfulness and worry that causes the Christian to remove our eyes from the God of our Salvation and Lover of our soul, onto the looming circumstances of life, and the more we feed our fear and fret over the future, the quicker our faith in God crumbles.
He will lead him in the path of life, instruct him on the pathway of justice, restore to him a knowledge of the holy, and show him the way of wisdom, for all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth and all His ways are righteous and true.The man that humbles himself before the Lord in godly fear need not worry about the arrow that flies in the daytime nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness... for He is our refuge, our fortress, and the God in Whom we trust.
When the enemy seeks to instil worry in our heart or to whip up our frantic emotions - it is the Shield-of-Faith that is our protection - for God's Word is sure and we must stand firm on His truth, however fragile life's circumstances may have become.
After having touched on tangible things like charitable giving, prayer, fasting, and one's attitude towards possessions, Jesus addressed issues like worry and anxiety and the need to place one's total trust in God for all eventualities of life: For this reason, Jesus told them, I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
Don't worry!
But anxiety, worry, fear, and fretting about the smallest thing, seems second nature to each one of us and we all have asked the question, what if..?
His victory at the Cross secured for us the power to overcome every anxiety, worry, fear, or fret, however large and however small.
God knows our needs and has promised to supply all we need, according to His riches in glory, but so often we do not trust Him, and instead try to help Him out as worry descends upon our soul.
Worry is a sin and demonstrates unbelief in God to keep His promises and His power to save.
Worry is one of the greatest hindrances to our spiritual growth, Christian witness, and effective ministry, because worry is one step towards unbelief.
He comes as a roaring lion seeking to shipwreck the faith of many Christians through fear, anxiety, worry, and depression; weakening our witness, rendering us useless as ambassadors for Christ, and stunting our Christian growth.
No surprise that we receive such a stern and vital warning against worry and anxiety and such a strong admonition to be spiritually alert, sober-minded, vigilant, and watchful knowing that the devil is an evil adversary who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking an opportunity to devour us.
Another important principle to learn is that we all need to be concerned with the things of God and not to allow worry or fear to hamstring us, and that God is able to use anyone who is available to Him to forward His plans and purposes when they, like Esther, are willing to say: If I perish, then I perish, nevertheless, Thy will be done in my life.
Too often, we think in terms of years and make plans for the far distant future, and yet we are instructed to live one day at a time and not to even worry ourselves about the needs of tomorrow, for each day has sufficient trouble of its own.
How easy it is to start to worry about the necessities of life and to become anxious when we see that food is getting scarce, clothing is getting worn, the rent is overdue, or when we have to face the loss of a job or a home.
But worry is an expression of unbelief in the Father-heart of God, for we are told that God knows all our needs, and to trust Him in all things.
To adopt a heart of worry when we are faced with lack, is to step into the realm of the unbeliever, for Scripture reminds us that in the world system it is the unbelievers, the Gentiles, the pagans that fret over the basics of life and adopt an attitude of anxiety.
As trust in Him increases, so worry and fear decline.