Last week we looked at four
areas of life that can weigh us down: Guilt, Bitterness, Worry, and Death. The #1 choice for “Most affects me” was worry. Let's look at the ABCs of worry and consider a
little formula to help us to live in peace and power.
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Things to think about:
· The
dictionary definition of worry is “to torment oneself with or suffer from
disturbing thoughts”
o
At its core is a sense of powerlessness to do anything about it
o
There are three buckets (ABCs) our worrying tends to fall in: Acceptance,
Basics, Cares
Acceptance
· Accepted by
God
o
past wrongs – can God really forgive me of this?
§ 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.
o
good enough – am I living up to His standard?
§ Romans 15:7 –
Accept one another just as Christ has accepted you
· Accepted by
others
o
past wrongs – if I could just go back and…
o
good enough – as a husband, father, brother, friend, employee, employer
Basics
· Food,
clothing, shelter
o
essentially, money provides for all of these
o
marketers tells us we don’t have enough
o
Matthew 6:25-34
Cares
· Loved ones
well-being
o
salvation, health, happiness
o
James 5:16 – Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray
for one another that you may be healed.
Solution
· Worry is a
waste
o
Time and Energy
o
In physics, Energy divided by Time = Power
§ Prayer / Time
= Power of Peace
§ Worry / Time
= Waste
§ Prayer and
Worry are the variables. Every moment we get to choose which one we will focus
on.
§ Time is the
constant.
· Do not be
anxious about anything
· but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known to God
· and the peace
of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus
My prayer is that we exit the Wasteland of Worry
and live in the Graceland of Peace by trusting God with all of our concerns. We know He is a good father who loves us unconditionally, provides for our
basic needs, and who encourages us to throw of the heavy yoke of cares on to
Him.
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