The first thing to realize when we face worry and anxiety is that there is nothing accomplished by worrying! The rest of God’s creation doesn’t worry. God provides for them, God provides what we need. When we spend time worrying and being anxious we take time from being industrious and doing something about the situation or problem we face. Ask, seek, knock! Matthew 7:7
I can’t stress enough that it is important to recognize up front that anything that is troubling us will not necessarily be easy to get through. I also can’t stress enough that in these moments, it is imperative that we ask God for help, seek His knowledge and apply it. When we do that….He promises that he will answer.
ASK God for strength, for solutions, for guidance.
SEEK out those answers and start looking at solutions. Start opening doors to solutions. Many times they are not the easy paths….don’t expect them to be. When a door closes…don’t worry…..look for the next….don’t expect it to be an easy door.
KNOCK and the door will be opened….this is a promise that is made, if we do these things, God promises that He will open the door!
Matthew 7:7 (TNIVJesus is speaking)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”
Jesus cared enough about worry to speak very directly to it:
Matthew 6:25-34 (TNIV, Jesus Speaking)
25 “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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 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? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life ? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 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? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Another thing to realize when we face worry and anxiety is that it is FRUITLESS. It is not fruitless to take action….but it is fruitless to worry! Anxiety will not solve the problem. Worry will not add an hour to our life. In fact, it may well take away from our life. In Matthew 6:27, Jesus ask the question, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”.
A year or so ago our A/C went out and the cost was $1400 to repair. I didn’t have the money to repair it. I have learned not to worry because over time I have applied these principals we are talking about and have seen that things do work out. When I ask God to help me and to provide answers, I don’t expect that they will be easy. I prayed, I asked to help us through this. Truthfully, even in this, I realize that A/C is a luxury, not a necessity. We were humbly ready to do without for awhile if we need to. It took awhile, but we got through that time and the A/C was repaired.
But the point is this, It’s all about trusting in God and not worrying. My wife and I could have freaked out, become paralyzed by the anxiety of it all and frankly, I would not have found the path I did to get it repaired. I could have become inwardly focused and started thinking about what I “deserve”. However, you may have seen a bunch of stuff hitting ebay and Craigs list and we are cutting the A/C off every night before we went to sleep, saving about 8-12 hrs of electricity. The point is….God provides a path, a way….it’s not always easy but it is there.
Maybe this problem seems superficial….I could illustrate the same thing with relational problems, with family problems, with work problems, with many other things.
I HAVE FOUND IN MY LIFE that worry and anxiety do not add to the problem……but always makes the problem worse. So, I have LEARNED to lay it aside and put my trust in Jesus.
Psalms 23:4 (TNIV)
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Don’t let worry make your life miserable….then you’ll certainly have something to worry about! Okay, that was meant as a joke….but it’s also very true.