Worry about Nothing
Notes
Transcript
(THANKFUL WORSHIP VIDEO)
1 Thessalonians 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
In just a few weeks we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. How can you be thankful in tough times? When the economy is not good. When things aren't going your way. How can you and I be thankful in tough times? When it seems our world is crumbling and falling apart around us.
In Philippians 4, Paul says "May you always be joyful in your life in the Lord." Is that possible? Is it always possible to be joyful, no matter what the circumstance? Yes it is.
We need to learn to celebrate the life that God has given us and be thankful for the things that we do have. The bible tells us that God has given us everything that we need to live and enjoy a Godly life.
Rejoicing in the Lord is simply celebrating what God has done for us and in us. Nothing is in shorter supply today than rejoicing. In our world today there seems to be a lot of stress and worry in the hearts and minds of God's people.
Many people are so stressed out when they come to church that they can't enjoy God's presence and power. While they may be at church physically their minds are somewhere else. They are worried about something at home, on the job, or any number of things.
They find it hard to be thankful during tough times. However, I am convinced that we can be thankful regardless of our circumstances. Thankfulness is a state of mind that I choose to have. It is a life style that I choose to live.
The Psalmist said this is the Day the Lord Has Made AND I WILL BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN IT. We can have a thankful mind and live a life of thanksgiving if we will do as God has instructed us to do in His word.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
In this very short passage we have the four keys to surviving stress. They're very simple to say, they're a lot more difficult to apply.
Step One: Worry about nothing
Step Two: Pray about everything
Step Three: Thank God in all things
Step Four: Think about the right things
Step One: Stop Worrying
Step One: Stop Worrying
V. 6 "Don't be anxious about anything. Do not fret or have any anxiety.' That's easier said than done. It's no sweat to say it but as soon as you're finished saying it, you start worrying about something. The word worry means to be pulled in different direction; to strangle or choke.
It's interesting to note that when Paul wrote this he was in prison. He was in prison in Rome in a dungeon and he's saying, "Don't worry about anything."
Facts about worry:
Facts about worry:
40% of your worries never happen.
So there's 40% of them that you don't even have to worry about. So out of your list of ten worries, pick out four and throw them out because they don't count.
30% of your worries concern the past.
Worry cannot change the past and worry cannot control the future. All worry does is mess up today.
So you can't control the past, and 40% aren't even going to happen so 70% of your worries are worthless.
12% of your worries are needless health concerns.
Like the hypochondriac who had written on the tombstone, "I told you I was sick!"
10% of your worries are insignificant and petty issues.
Only 8% of your worries are actual, legitimate concerns.
Worrying doesn't change anything. It's stewing without doing.
25 “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?
26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
The key to reducing stress in your life is live one day at a time. Don't worry about tomorrow. Just focus on today. Focus on today's issues and problems and let God take care of them. Worry about nothing. God is saying I will take care of you one day at a time.
It is sometimes a troublesome truth for many Christians that even though we belong to God through faith in Christ, we still seem to experience the same problems that plagued us before we were saved.
We often become discouraged and bogged down in life’s cares. The fact that both the Old and New Testaments address this problem the same way indicates that God knows problems and worries are inevitable in this life.
Thankfully, He has given us the same solution He gave in both Psalms and Peter’s letter. “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Psalm 55:22), and “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
22 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Contained within these two verses are several amazing truths:
God will sustain us.
He will never let us fall.
He cares for us.
Taken one at a time, we see first that God declares both His ability and His willingness to be our strength and support—mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
He is able (and best of all, willing!) to take everything that threatens to overwhelm us and use it for our benefit. He has promised to “work all things together for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Even at times when we doubt Him, He is still working for our good and His glory. And He has also promised that He will allow no trial to be so great we cannot bear it in the power of Christ and that He will provide a means of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
By this, He means that He will not let us fall, as He promised in Psalm 55:22.
22 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
The third statement—”He cares for you”—gives us the motivation behind His other promises. Our God is not cold and unfeeling.
Rather, He is our loving heavenly Father whose heart is tender toward His children. Jesus reminds us that just as an earthly father would not deny his children bread, so God has promised to give us “good gifts” when we ask Him (Matthew 7:11).
In John 16:33, Jesus says,
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Then we should ask the Lord to show us how He has “overcome” our problems, our worries, our anger, our fears and our guilt.
The Lord reveals to us through His Word, the Bible, that we can be of good “cheer,” that we can:
1) Rejoice in our problems because God will use them to our benefit: “Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4);
2) See our “worries” as an opportunity to practice Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths”;
3) Counteract our anger by obeying Ephesians 4:32: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you”; and
4) Deal with any sinful feelings by believing and acting upon the truth of 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
All of our problems can be overcome through simple faith in God’s Word.
God is bigger than all our worries and problems put together, and we must realize that if we are to have any victory in our lives.
Everyone suffers with these difficulties, because the Bible teaches that temptation is “common” to mankind (1 Corinthians 10:13).
We must not let Satan deceive us into thinking that all our problems are our fault, all our worries will come true, all our anger condemns us, or that all our guilt is from God.
If we do sin and confess, God forgives and cleanses. We need not feel ashamed, but rather take God at His Word that He does forgive and cleanse. None of our sins are so heavy that God cannot lift them from us and throw them into the deepest sea (see Psalm 103:11-12).
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
In reality, feelings come from thoughts, so, even though we can’t change how we feel, we can change how we think.
And this is what God wants us to do. For example, in Philippians 2:5, Christians are told, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
In Philippians 4:8, Christians are told to think on things that are “true,” “noble,” “just,” “pure,” “lovely,” “of good report,” and “praiseworthy.”
In Colossians 3:2, we are told to “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Therefore, as we do this, our feelings of anxiousness diminish.
So, each day, taking one step at a time, we should pray for God’s Word to guide us, read or listen to God’s Word, and meditate on God’s Word when the problems, worries, and anxieties of life come along. The secret to giving things over to Christ is really no secret at all—it’s simply asking Jesus to take our burden of “original sin” and be our Savior (John 3:16), as well as submitting to Jesus as our Lord in day-to-day living.
And by doing this, we can truly live a life without worry and a life that is thankful in everything.