Worry . . . a sure ticket to failure.
By faith I understand that change is just not in God’s
nature—that, however, I cannot say about everything else around me. Therefore I
can sing with confidence that—
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.
Why? Because I know that—
On Christ the solid Rock I
stand,
And that—
All other ground is sinking sand…
So, It is by faith that we stand firm, unchanging, yet ever pressing towards the final the goal to win the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). What a contradiction, some would say. Yet that is not the case; because ultimately Jesus is that Rock that never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)
He is, of course, also the living Word, all else fades with
time. The spoken word is but a shadow, elusive, at best a metaphor or perhaps a
sign; and, as such, that word can only point to the real Word who never
changes, and is always present—
Therefore he is able to save
completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to
intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25).
Imagine, we not only have an ever present living faith, but
also a Rock on which to anchor that faith. Somehow, however, we always seem to manage
to forget that all the promises of that unchanging faith are “Yes” and “Amen”
in Him (Corinthians 1:20). These are His solid, unchanging promises, among
which is that we should not worry for instance about finances, and that we
should—
Keep our lives free from the love
of money and be content with what we have, because God has said that He we will
never leave us; nor will He ever forsake us (Hebrew 13:5).
Yet, we worry.
He promises us a new body, and demonstrated that He is fully
capable of providing that when He arose from the grave.
Yet, we worry.
We fret and worry that we will be alone, particularly in old
age; although Isaiah says He has promised that—
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I
will sustain you and I will rescue you (Isaiah 46:4).
Yet, we worry.
Worry is fundamentally a faithless exercise. Not only is it
that, it is also a lie. A lie that we tell ourselves. Jesus has assuredly says—
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is
not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of
the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you
by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about
clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet
I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of
these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today
and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of
little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we
drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and
his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)
So, in light of these promises why
should we lie to ourselves, and doubt His promises?
The journey is ours, yet we walk
not alone. He walks alongside us each step of the way, and whispers at each
step, “Do not worry … God will supply your every need, according to His riches
in Glory.”
Blessings,
Jim_/
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