Learning to be Anxious For Nothing

Well, happy new year! Another one has flown by, and so far what do we know? Gas prices are low but the reporters think that's bad. So what I'm hearing from God so far this year is that He is going to do a new thing. I know, you've heard that before.

What does that mean to you?  A new thing. He makes all things new. He is the Redeemer, the Restorer of paths to dwell in, He brings refreshing, He heals and delivers and makes whole. Perhaps this is the year to receive that from Him and let Him have His way.

Maybe this is the time to sit quietly before Him and let Him be God. I know, you've heard that too. Trouble is we've all heard these things over and over. Why do you think that is? Could it be we aren't very good listeners? I would have to admit that I often live as if I did not believe what I say I believe. Am I alone in this?

Be Anxious For Nothing

Paul said, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which passes understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The world does not know anything about this, but we do.

Also, important to remember is we are learning to be content in whatever state we are...to abound and to suffer need (Philippians 4:12). Not always fun but he called us to make disciples and to preach the good news and if we choose to follow Christ, there will be difficulties. But we have something the world wants and needs desperately. We are God's ambassadors.

The Old Way Vs. The New Way

Am I a bad listener? Are you?  Have we worked so hard and tried so hard for so many years and things still aren't working out the way we had hoped, the way we had envisioned? Our full time ministry, our speaking engagements, our this, our that, our, our, our.  I have a book recommendation this month. The name of the book is The Pressure's Off, by Larry Crabb.

We don't do it on purpose. We just don't know the weakness of our flesh. What did Jesus say? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? So, we have to pay attention and check and see if we are seeking after the Lord Himself or after His blessings. This is basically the thesis of Crabb's book.

Crabb describes the Old Way” and the New Way,” the Old Way basically summed up as, “Do everything right and God will reward you with His blessings. The New Way is loving the Lord for Himself. This is oversimplified, probably, but that's the gist of it. And when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

It Takes Faith

It takes faith to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5,6). Well, I think I've probably leaned on my own understanding more times than I care to admit. At a certain point I realized I had “painted myself into a corner.”

Only at the point of having done so many things thinking I was fully surrendered to God was I able to think about what it might mean to really learn to lean on Him. It's always His agenda He wants, not ours. We see people doing this and that and/or we had a vision of what our calling was supposed to look like and then we went about trying to make it happen.

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (Hebrews 11:6). Sometimes I think I have great faith because I have studied great faith or because have experienced a spiritual high, but the truth is sometimes I'm not even sure what faith is. That's why I keep going to church, keep reading the Word, keep coming to the Lord to seek Him and try to learn what He wants from me.

Jesus Saved Us For Relationship

Relationships are at the core of our life on earth and surely Jesus Christ dying for our sins to pay our debt to the Father and bringing us into relationship with Him should always remind us that He wants us. Therefore, we simply must learn what that looks like in our life. Relationship with Him first, with ourselves and with others and doing whatever our hand finds to do.

There are tons of Christian self-help books out there written by famous people, pastors, and psychologists and Grammy-award-winning singers. I am none of the above, but I have been brought into relationship with the people whom God has brought together, and to the best of our ability as God gives us grace we work together toward advancing the kingdom of God. That's why all of us are here.

All of us in our sphere of influence doing what we can for the glory of God, seeking to follow and obey Jesus Christ, should enable us to work with clean hands and a pure heart to advance the kingdom of God and not be ashamed. We are all in this together.

We Cannot Serve God and Mammon

We don't know the future but if we allow Jesus to be our Lord as well as our Savior we can live confidently, working out what He wants to work out in our lives and our callings. So if you feel you have not arrived, if you feel like a failure, if you are struggling, take heart, be encouraged, cast your burden on the Lord for He cares for you. (I Peter 5:7)

And “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:33,34.) I am convinced success looks different to God than it does to the world, and even to us.

Jesus said, “No one can serve to masters for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24). I recently have been thinking about that because my hours have been cut in half working with a student. I could be making more money subbing in different districts. But God is my master, not money. Hope this helps somebody.

Matthew 6:24, 33,34;26:41

I Peter 5:7

Proverbs 3:5,6

Psalm 46:10;18:2;40:17; 70:5;144:2

Hebrews 11:6

Philippians 4:6,7

Isaiah 58:12;43:19;28:12

Acts 3:19

II Samuel 22:2

Philippians 4:11-13

John 16:33