Today’s scripture:
“Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
Max Lucado once said, “No one can pray and worry at the same time.” There is power in prayer because of whom you are praying to. Sometimes I think we are afraid to ask God for things that we need or want because we feel that He will not see us through. There is never a time when God does not meet our needs. However, our needs are rarely matching up with how we see them. If we are facing some jail time and it is not yet certain if we will serve that time, we pray and ask God to grant us freedom. If He chooses to let the judge sentence us to serve time in jail, it is because of what we NEED and not what we want. If God chooses not to give us what we desire, it isnt because He doesnt love us; rather it is because He loves us way too much for us to have our own way which is very destructive most of the time.
There was one time while I was separated from my first wife and my son, I was struggling to pay bills, child support, and gas money, not to mention food. The church I was going to had helped me out several times with my financial shortage. I was driving down the road one-day whith my gas gage on empty and no money in my wallet. I cried out to God saying… “I know it is a good thing to humble myself and ask for help, but God, I’ve been doing that and I’m still hurting! This time, will you please send me some money without asking for it?”
I am not kidding, my son Alex calls me within 5 minutes of that prayer and says there is a $100.00 check there waiting for me from a church I used to go to a few years before! I cashed the check, then went to that church, thanked them, and told them my struggles and how God blessed me through them. They told me they didn’t know anything about it!!! God will send the rain of mercy when, AND ONLY when you need it. A friend of mine once told me we have a daddy who is abizillionaire and He loves to bless us with all that He has. That,my friends is so true!
Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.” There really is no need to drive yourself into a state of depression. If you can help your situation, then try with all your might. However, if you have done all that you know what to do, then pray as you lie back in your hammock and let God take care of what you need. There is nothing more that you can do about it anyway. When you do that and let God take it over, you have a peace in the midst of chaos that surpasses all understanding.
Today we are looking into the fifteenth topic on the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus is teaching, which is “Do not worry”. Matthew 6:25-34… Basically, Jesus is saying, there is enough chaos and trouble in this world that we don’t need to add to it. From the outside of Christianity it does not make any since to not worry when you just lost your job and your mortgage is due and you only have a bottle of ketchup and a couple of eggs in the fridge. My dear friends, that is where faith comes in! Faith is not based on what we can see, it is based on the one who cares for us that we cannot see but we believe we can trust Him.
He wraps up this part of the sermon of what is most important… v.33-34 “But 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.”
Reflection:
This most definitely needs an attitude of humility. See, we need to set our minds on Him and seek Him before He will jump in and take care of the situation. Do not be discouraged or afraid to cry out to Him with what you need. He already knows anyway, He is just waiting for you to humble yourself and ask Him for help.
Challenge:
Have you done all you can do in your current situations, whatever they are? Do you have peace that God has got this? If you are still worrying, that means either you never surrendered it to God or you have decided to take it back again. Once you have done all you can do, surrender it to God and ask Him to help you to keep your hands off of it. This is His life, not yours. He owns this situation, you do not! He sees the outcome, you only see the present time. Let it go!
-Doug McGowan
No comments:
Post a Comment