BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 04, 2023.

SUBJECT : BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING!

Memory verse: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4 vs 6.)

READ: Philippians 4 vs 4 - 7:

4:4: Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice!

4:5: Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

4:6: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

4:7: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

INTIMATION:

Being anxious is being uneasy with fear or desire regarding something; worrying, or craving, or yearning for something. Anxiety is the offshoot of care or desire for earthly things. 

Imagine being anxious for nothing! It seems like an impossibility, right? We all have responsibilities, and worries; on the job, in our homes, in our business, at school, our relationships with others, and even with God. However, the "Omni" nature of God occasioned the counsel of Jesus Christ to us, viz; "Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life." This is because everything, including your life, is planned and purposed by the Owner, who determines circumstances, and commands or allows events as is pleasing to Him (Lamentation 3 vs 37). 

Now, have you realized that you contributed nothing, absolutely nothing, in the creation of this world, including yourself. God created the world, and all that is in it. He owns everything, planned everything, and manages everything according to His plans and purposes for creating them. He is the "Beginning and the End." 

I am always humbled by God's description of Himself, "..For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet known, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will do My pleasure,' (Isaiah 46 vs 9 - 10.)

If then you don't have any control over your life, why worry about things. Christians should put their trust in God, for it is He who is working all things together according to His purposes. Christians must not worry, for to worry is to doubt God’s ability to take care of all things and work all things together for the good of the Christian. 

Worriers are consumed by fear and find it difficult to trust God. They let their plans interfere with their relationship with God. Don't let worries about tomorrow affect your relationship with God today.

Sincerely, our attitude in all things, according to the Scripture, should be to carry our worries, stresses, and daily struggles to God, and trust Him with them, rather than carrying them by ourselves. Sometimes we think that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God's concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, He will bear the weight even of those struggles. 

Letting God have your anxieties calls for action, that is actually surrendering all to Him. Ensure you don't submit to circumstances, but to the Lord who controls circumstances. Turn your worries into prayers. Whenever you start to worry, you stop to pray, and if you start to pray, you stop to worry. Always give God the first place in your life. 

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul was advising the believers in Philippi from the prison. It is quite strange that a man in prison will be telling a church to rejoice. This is because he knows that no matter what happens, God is in control of all things.

People, objects, goals, and other desires all compete for priority. Any of these can quickly bump God out of your life, out of first place if you don't actively choose to give Him first place in every area of your life. Because of the effects of worry, Jesus tells us not to worry about those needs that God promises to supply. 

Worry may damage your health, cause the object of your worry to consume your thoughts, disrupt your productivity, negatively affect the way you treat others, reduce your ability to trust in God. Worry immobilizes, but genuine concern moves you to action.

Prayer: Abba Father, all things are Yours, and You have promised to meet all my needs according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Therefore, give me the grace to put away all cares and worries in my life and cast them upon You. I hold tight to Your promise to be with me always, and meet all my needs, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!