So, we all know what worry is, but how can we overcome it??
We can make up our mind to conquer worry with God’s help. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
· First, if we have sin in our life, and have not obeyed God in baptism, we need to correct our lives by obeying the gospel. If we are a Christian, we need to repent and pray to God for forgiveness (Acts 8:22), and we need to avoid secret sin ( Psa 19:12).
· We need to forget those past sins if we have corrected them ( Php. 3:13).
· We need to make sure we have done all we can to correct things with God and our fellow Christians. I think this is an area many of us have a problem with. Matt. 5:23 - 24 says: So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Don’t even think that your worship will be acceptable to God if you are sitting in the assembly and have a problem with a brother or sister. Get it corrected with the person and God! This is necessary for your worship to be acceptable and for your peace of mind. How can we sit in the worship service with bad attitudes toward our brothers and sisters and expect God to just take us right into heaven?
ANOTHER THOUGHT – Sometimes we’re not the one who committed the wrong, but we may be the one who has to make the first step to correct the wrong between ourselves and our brother or sister.
Sometimes wrongs will not be corrected unless we are big enough to take that first step. Is it easy?? NO. But sometimes necessary. Then, when it is over and corrected, we cannot continue to harbor bad feelings, and tell others about it, even when the wrong may not be corrected according to our own specifications. To do so is to our own detriment. If God forgets our sin when we are forgiven, we need to also.
Letting things go will help with our worry problems. Many times, we want to hang on to things and worry about them when we should correct them and let them go. Life is too short to have this worry.
If possible, TALK TO THE PERSON IN PERSON – too many times today folks use texting or email to handle some of life’s most important moments. There are some things of such import that they don’t need to be done in a text. Have the courage to correct things in person. Before one “pooh, poohs” this, think – Do we think Jesus would have corrected things in this manner? When Jesus told the parable about the prodigal son, the prodigal decided to go home in Luke 15, the prodigal didn’t send word to his father in a message– he said, “I will arise and go to my Father and say ‘I have sinned against heaven and before thee.’” Then he went home and talked to his father. THINK ABOUT IT! Sometimes we worry about how someone is going to react, and then do nothing. Pray about it. Sometimes the other person takes it much better than we expected them to, especially if we prepare our hearts beforehand and approach them in the right manner. Have courage! Don’t let things fester.
If we have done our part in correcting a wrong, LET GOD HANDLE THE OTHER PERSON IF THEY ARE STILL IN THE WRONG – don’t continue to worry and fret over it. Pray for the person – they may not change, but prayer will change you and your attitude toward others.
Giving others the cold shoulder or not talking to a brother or sister are not things a Christian should practice. THINK!! These are people we are trying to go to heaven with. Don’t give your fellow Christians something to worry about, such as why you are behaving toward them in a manner not becoming to a Christian.
OTHER WAYS TO OVERCOME WORRY:
· We can make sure we are in fellowship with God -- 1Jn 1:7 - 8 Have we corrected secret sin and overt sins in our lives?
· Do what we can, and turn the rest over to God. 1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Doesn’t He know what we need? He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground (Matt. 10: 29 -31) and we are of more value than a sparrow.
· Remember that our God is a God who rules in the kingdoms of men here on earth -- (Rom 13:1 ;Dan. 4:25). Doesn’t this prove that He works providentially to take care of us? (Matt. 6: 28 – 30). We don’t have to constantly worry about the political climate in our country – God takes care of His own
· PRAY!! Prayer is one of the most powerful and underused weapons a Christian has against worry. What a blessing to be able to boldly go before the Father’s throne in heaven and ask our petitions. Use it! PEOPLE OF FAITH IN THE BIBLE DID – have you thought about?: Daniel prayed three times a day, even in a day of great political unrest, and potential harm to himself – Dan. 6: 10 – 11. Hannah prayed when she wanted a child and all seemed against her having one -- I Sam. 1:27. Samuel prayed when Israel wanted to be like the nations around him – I Sam.8:6. Ezra prayed when the men of Israel had unlawful wives – Ezra 10:1. Hezekiah prayed when he was sick enough to die – Isa. 38:2. Jonah prayed after he tried to run away from God – Jon. 2:1. Jesus prayed when he was facing a death on the cross – Matt. 26:39. Paul and Silas prayed when they sat in prison – Acts 16:25. Elijah prayed when there was no rain – James 5:18. David prayed when pursued by his enemies – Psa. 20:1 – 9. Paul said we should “Pray without ceasing” – I Thess. 5:17. And we could go on and on . . .
· Learn to be content with the physical blessings we have (Heb 13:5 - 6). Contentment keeps us from worrying about what others have that we do not.
· Look forward to heaven, and strive to go there – Abraham looked for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:10).
· Basically, do what you are capable of doing, and leave the rest to God!!
If we conquer this problem of worry, does this mean nothing bad will happen to me?? NO! But, conquering worry does mean that we’ll be a people more dependent on God’s care, and a people who realize that the trials of this life can work to make us ever closer to our God in faith. We’ll realize that like Joseph’s life, God can overrule the bad in our lives and work those things for good --Gen. 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Rom. 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Joseph didn’t blame God for his trials, but remained faithful through them. Psalm 55:22 tells us to “cast your burdens on the Lord. . .” – we need to trust Him and overcome worry! A life without worry will make us a happier people.
Psalm 94:9 is a verse that gives me a lot of comfort. "He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? GOD HEARS, GOD SEES – GOD will help. I Pet. 5:7 – cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you. . .
Now, ask yourself – “What did you worry about a year ago today?”
We can make up our mind to conquer worry with God’s help. Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
· First, if we have sin in our life, and have not obeyed God in baptism, we need to correct our lives by obeying the gospel. If we are a Christian, we need to repent and pray to God for forgiveness (Acts 8:22), and we need to avoid secret sin ( Psa 19:12).
· We need to forget those past sins if we have corrected them ( Php. 3:13).
· We need to make sure we have done all we can to correct things with God and our fellow Christians. I think this is an area many of us have a problem with. Matt. 5:23 - 24 says: So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Don’t even think that your worship will be acceptable to God if you are sitting in the assembly and have a problem with a brother or sister. Get it corrected with the person and God! This is necessary for your worship to be acceptable and for your peace of mind. How can we sit in the worship service with bad attitudes toward our brothers and sisters and expect God to just take us right into heaven?
- Many times we want forgiveness from God for our trespasses, but are not willing to forgive those who trespass against us. If you have this as a worry – get it corrected! We are ALL trying to go to heaven – do we think we can have something against a brother or sister in heaven?? (Matt. 18: 22 - 35). We need to remember what the writer of Hebrews said: Heb 4:13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
ANOTHER THOUGHT – Sometimes we’re not the one who committed the wrong, but we may be the one who has to make the first step to correct the wrong between ourselves and our brother or sister.
Sometimes wrongs will not be corrected unless we are big enough to take that first step. Is it easy?? NO. But sometimes necessary. Then, when it is over and corrected, we cannot continue to harbor bad feelings, and tell others about it, even when the wrong may not be corrected according to our own specifications. To do so is to our own detriment. If God forgets our sin when we are forgiven, we need to also.
Letting things go will help with our worry problems. Many times, we want to hang on to things and worry about them when we should correct them and let them go. Life is too short to have this worry.
If possible, TALK TO THE PERSON IN PERSON – too many times today folks use texting or email to handle some of life’s most important moments. There are some things of such import that they don’t need to be done in a text. Have the courage to correct things in person. Before one “pooh, poohs” this, think – Do we think Jesus would have corrected things in this manner? When Jesus told the parable about the prodigal son, the prodigal decided to go home in Luke 15, the prodigal didn’t send word to his father in a message– he said, “I will arise and go to my Father and say ‘I have sinned against heaven and before thee.’” Then he went home and talked to his father. THINK ABOUT IT! Sometimes we worry about how someone is going to react, and then do nothing. Pray about it. Sometimes the other person takes it much better than we expected them to, especially if we prepare our hearts beforehand and approach them in the right manner. Have courage! Don’t let things fester.
If we have done our part in correcting a wrong, LET GOD HANDLE THE OTHER PERSON IF THEY ARE STILL IN THE WRONG – don’t continue to worry and fret over it. Pray for the person – they may not change, but prayer will change you and your attitude toward others.
Giving others the cold shoulder or not talking to a brother or sister are not things a Christian should practice. THINK!! These are people we are trying to go to heaven with. Don’t give your fellow Christians something to worry about, such as why you are behaving toward them in a manner not becoming to a Christian.
OTHER WAYS TO OVERCOME WORRY:
· We can make sure we are in fellowship with God -- 1Jn 1:7 - 8 Have we corrected secret sin and overt sins in our lives?
· Do what we can, and turn the rest over to God. 1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Doesn’t He know what we need? He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground (Matt. 10: 29 -31) and we are of more value than a sparrow.
· Remember that our God is a God who rules in the kingdoms of men here on earth -- (Rom 13:1 ;Dan. 4:25). Doesn’t this prove that He works providentially to take care of us? (Matt. 6: 28 – 30). We don’t have to constantly worry about the political climate in our country – God takes care of His own
· PRAY!! Prayer is one of the most powerful and underused weapons a Christian has against worry. What a blessing to be able to boldly go before the Father’s throne in heaven and ask our petitions. Use it! PEOPLE OF FAITH IN THE BIBLE DID – have you thought about?: Daniel prayed three times a day, even in a day of great political unrest, and potential harm to himself – Dan. 6: 10 – 11. Hannah prayed when she wanted a child and all seemed against her having one -- I Sam. 1:27. Samuel prayed when Israel wanted to be like the nations around him – I Sam.8:6. Ezra prayed when the men of Israel had unlawful wives – Ezra 10:1. Hezekiah prayed when he was sick enough to die – Isa. 38:2. Jonah prayed after he tried to run away from God – Jon. 2:1. Jesus prayed when he was facing a death on the cross – Matt. 26:39. Paul and Silas prayed when they sat in prison – Acts 16:25. Elijah prayed when there was no rain – James 5:18. David prayed when pursued by his enemies – Psa. 20:1 – 9. Paul said we should “Pray without ceasing” – I Thess. 5:17. And we could go on and on . . .
- Work!! (I Tim. 5:8). Make the church and its work the object of our care and concern. Matt. 6:33 . Work in the home (Ecc. 9:10; I Thess. 4:11)
· Learn to be content with the physical blessings we have (Heb 13:5 - 6). Contentment keeps us from worrying about what others have that we do not.
· Look forward to heaven, and strive to go there – Abraham looked for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God (Heb 11:10).
· Basically, do what you are capable of doing, and leave the rest to God!!
If we conquer this problem of worry, does this mean nothing bad will happen to me?? NO! But, conquering worry does mean that we’ll be a people more dependent on God’s care, and a people who realize that the trials of this life can work to make us ever closer to our God in faith. We’ll realize that like Joseph’s life, God can overrule the bad in our lives and work those things for good --Gen. 50:20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
Rom. 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Joseph didn’t blame God for his trials, but remained faithful through them. Psalm 55:22 tells us to “cast your burdens on the Lord. . .” – we need to trust Him and overcome worry! A life without worry will make us a happier people.
Psalm 94:9 is a verse that gives me a lot of comfort. "He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? GOD HEARS, GOD SEES – GOD will help. I Pet. 5:7 – cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you. . .
Now, ask yourself – “What did you worry about a year ago today?”