Are
You Worried?
Steve W. Reeves
West Side Church of Christ, Searcy, Arkansas
Which is longer, your worry list or your
prayer list? For many people the joy of life has been drained by the incessant
and insidious foe of worry. Like the venom of a poisonous snake, worry infiltrates
our hearts and minds to take us captive and make us its prey. The irony of worry is two-fold. First, most
of the things we worry about are beyond our control and, second, most of our
worries are never realized. As the well-known holocaust survivor and writer
Corrie Ten Boom expressed, “Worry is carrying tomorrow’s burden with today’s
strength. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worry does not empty
tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
In
Philippians 4:6-7 the apostle Paul provides a divinely inspired remedy for the
wearisome ill of worry. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And
the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.” Notice three important insights from this passage.
1.
Worry about nothing. Jesus instructed His disciples to avoid worrying about the
necessities of life such as food and clothing (Matthew 6:25-34). The most
important thing, according to Jesus, is to “Seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (verse 33).
2. Be
thankful. The certain cure for anxiety is thankfulness. Whenever I am tempted
to bemoan my circumstances or worry about tomorrow I stop to reflect upon all
of the blessings I have been given in life. It does not take long for gratitude
to replace worry. The reality of God’s faithfulness in the past provides a
foundation of hope for the future.
3.
Pray about everything. You have no worry too small or too large for God to
handle. What would happen in your life if you moved everything on your worry
list to your prayer list? Remember that God is, “able to do far more abundantly
beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us”
(Ephesians 3:20).
The
result of these actions are stated in verse 7. God promises us “peace that
surpasses comprehension.” The time we waste worrying will be replaced by time
filled with unbelievable peace, contentment and rest because we realiaze we are
in His care.
-
Steve W. Reeves
