“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.”
PHILIPPIANS 4:6 (AMP)
I’m the worst when it comes to letting worry creep in and continually have to remind myself to “let go and let God,” to pray about everything. It’s really a pride and faith issue, as much as I hate to admit that.
When I allow my thoughts to wander into worry, I’m essentially saying, “I don’t trust You enough to handle this, God.”
Yikes.
Worry just makes it that much harder to hear and see our Father at work—not because He isn’t with us anymore (He always is), but because we unintentionally block communication with Him by relying solely on ourselves and our own power.
That’s pride, friends.
We flatter ourselves when we worry, thinking any amount of that will accomplish anything of value, but we do it anyway because worry tricks us into feeling like we’re doing something to help the situation, as though worrying means we care that much more.
Hear this:
Care can exist without worry.
Care for ourselves and one another can exist without worry.
This is what I’ve learned …
It’s okay to feel all the emotions God designed my body and mind to feel, BUT when those emotions begin to dissolve into worry, it’s a clear signal that I’m relying on myself a little too much and need to turn back to the One who is truly reliable, truly in control, truly powerful.
Prayer, then, is one of our greatest weapons against worry because it allows us to:
– Humbly accept our limitations,
– Release that which we can’t control or to find God-driven solutions,
– Lay down our inadequate, self-made weapons at the feet of Jesus,
– Recognize that our Warrior God is fighting for us.
That’s what freedom looks like—HIS sacrifice and love and mercy and the hope He provides.
By the grace of our good Father, Jesus has taken away the burden of having to do life all on our own. That doesn’t mean we stop working and helping and obediently living out the life He has called us to.
Rather, it means we do everything with Him and for Him, and He provides the means and the instruction manual.
Worry is only human, but it gets in the way—His way.
So, when you find yourself spiraling into worry, lift up a prayer to the One who can actually do something about it.
“Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.
Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving.
People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.
Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bank robbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it?
The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.”
LUKE 12:22-34 (MSG)
Feature photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash
