Tag: Worry

Posted on

As Many Times As It Takes

AUGUST 17

MATTHEW 6:31_Therefore take no thought…

How many times will Jesus teach to stop worrying? How many times will He point out it begins in your thought process? 

As many times as a parent teaches a child to tie a shoe, or ride a bike – as many times as it takes.  

Jesus’ repetitiveness is for you to follow. The longer you follow, the more you understand the heart of God – which increases faith. Eventually, it will make sense that God takes care of you! You begin to see that when you go through tough struggles, not only is Jesus with you, but a host of other believers have followed the same path. (Study George Washington at Valley Forge for one example).

Rather than allowing the deceiver to fill your thoughts with doubts and fear, begin to take Jesus at His word.  Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV), “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Simon Peter caught on to how to deal with worry: I Peter 5:6-7 (KJV), “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

PRAYER

Loving Jesus, Please teach me how to wear Your yoke and not worry. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ gives His followers rest—He will give it to me

Posted on

Love Creates Beauty

AUGUST 13

MATTHEW 6:30_Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field…

The I AM has another name, Jehovah-Jireh, which means My Provider. You may only consider provisions as food, clothes, and shelter. The Jehovah-Jireh is able to provide much more than basic essentials. He provides such things as beauty in nature.

In this verse, Jesus the Creator says God clothes the grass of the field. I love that! The world can be a very wicked, evil, dark place. Jesus says God dresses it up – even an unkept field! There are many awe-inspiring scenes in the world – all presented by the hand of nature.  God could have created plain, boring nature. But God’s love sees beauty in everything, so it is only natural that His love creates beauty. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV), “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” There are sunrises, sunsets, the Blue Ridge mountains in Autumn, dogwoods and cherry trees in Spring, a field of sunflowers in Summer, and an untouched blanket of snow in Winter. These are only a micro-portion of God’s handiwork. Verse 11 says, “He hath made every thing beautiful in His time …”

Even though God’s ultimate creation, the Garden of Eden, fell to disobedience – He still gave beauty to the earth. 

PRAYER

Jesus Creator, I see Your world of nature, and know it is full of Your love! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ’s creation reflects His love—I can reflect it too!

Posted on

It Took Her Breath Away!

AUGUST 12

MATTHEW 6:29_was not arrayed like one of these.

I Kings 3:11-14 (KJV),”And God said unto him, ‘Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days’” 

You simply must read I Kings 10 of the account of the Queen of Sheba! She visited King Solomon just to see if all she had heard of him was true. After she heard his wisdom, and saw the vastness of his wealth, verse 5 (KJV) says, “… there was no more spirit in her.”  We would say, It took her breath away.

Go back to Jesus’ word, yet. Yet, for all Solomon’s power, wisdom, and wealth, he had nothing in his wardrobe to surpass the beauty of a field of lilies. Simple God-grown lilies do not have to worry about their existence – God supplies all their needs. 

PRAYER

Jehovah Jireh, I worship the magnificent God You are!  In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ’s works in my life—He takes my breath away!

Posted on

An Insatiable Desire

AUGUST 6

MATTHEW 6:28_And why take ye thought for raiment?

Jesus re-visits the clothes issue. There is something else Jesus re-visits. Do you see it? Do you see the word thought? 

The tenth commandment is Thou shalt not covet. Covet is akin to lust. Thought patterns are captured. A strong desire that doesn’t let go until it is satisfied. If the truth be told, covetousness can’t be satisfied.

Once lust, or covetousness, obtains its desire – it wants more. That’s the very nature of covetousness – an insatiable desire. Luke 12:15 (KJV), “And he [Jesus] said unto them, ‘Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’’’ There is a difference in coveting the latest brand name and just needing clothes.

Covet is also akin to envy. Envy dwells on what someone else possesses. The longer the dwell, the deeper envy works its way into the heart. Once there, envy causes conflict. Not because you’ve been done any wrong, but because the one you envy dresses like you want to – but can’t.

Galatians 5:26 (KJV), “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Don’t let worry thought patterns fill you with strife over clothes.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, Help me trust You to provide for me what is best at this time. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.              

Christ knows all my needs—He will provide

Posted on

The Bottom Line

AUGUST 5

MATTHEW 6:27_can add one cubit unto his statue?

Does worry do any good at all? If so, what kind of good? Does it change anything? If you need money and worry about it night and day, will that bring you money?  If you’ve lost your job and worry so much you can’t sleep, will that get you a job?

Why do you worry? Does it make you feel better?  You may think so temporarily, but the truth is it makes you sick. Or maybe you feel obligated to worry. After all, you need to do something about the problem, but it is out of your hands – so you worry.

Worry requires a lot of energy. The bottom line according to Jesus is worry won’t change a single thing. It is not simple to turn off worry. Everyone struggles with worry. It is certainly something to learn to lay at the feet of Jesus.   

Use your energy to praise the mighty God of the Impossible! Don’t be timid to say out loud, “God will help me!” When you’re in that prayer closet talk out loud. Let God know you believe! Show some faith! Ask God to release you from fear of the unknown. Ask Him to give you faith in His power.

If you get to the place you replace worry with praise – you are free from one less bondage.

PRAYER

God of My Faith, Please replace my worry with Your praise. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

Christ wants my praise—I will give it to Him!