I WORRY A LOT!
IF YOU ARE
A HUMAN BEING THIS IS A
CONDITION
THAT YOU ARE PROBABLY
FAMILIAR
WITH.
PROBABLY
YOU'VE READ BOOKS ON
THE
SUBJECT, MAYBE EVEN GONE TO
A
PSYCHIATRIST OR
PSYCHOLOGIST
TO GET HELP.
MAYBE YOU'VE
DEVELOPED SOME
TRICKS AND
TECHNIQUES TO "GET
YOU THROUGH
THE NIGHT".
SOME PEOPLE
UNDERTAKE ANY
NUMBER OF
NEW AGE THERAPIES IN
ORDER TO
GET PEACE OF MIND.
But when we
look into the Bible we are
able to see
the how, when, where and
why of worry.
************
By the end
of this paper, you will understand:
1. Where
worry comes from
2. What
causes worry
3. What
worry actually is
4. What to
do about it
*************
"Giving thanks always for all things unto
God and the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20)
THE
ORIGINAL BUNCH OF WORRIERS - WHO WERE THEY?
"But with
many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust
...neither be ye idolators.... neither let us commit fornication
...neither let us tempt Christ ... neither murmur ye
...Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written
for our admonition..."
(1 Corinthians 10:5-8,1 Cor 10:9-11)
Moses led God's
people out of Egypt and in what should have been at most a journey of two
weeks, turned into a major excursion of forty years.
As soon as they
were out of Egypt, they started complaining about lack of water, not enough
food, too much food, not enough meat, too much meat, not enough fruit and
vegetables as they had in Egypt like the leeks, garlic, melons and so it went
on.
WHY DID
THEY ACT LIKE THIS?
Put yourself in
their place and you could imagine what it would be like. You're part of a race
of people that had been enslaved for several generations and suddenly you find
yourself thrust out into an inhospitable desert about to make a journey to the
Promised Land that God had promised you.
After the initial
euphoria has subsided you are suddenly faced with the necessities of living -
like food, water, shelter and needing protection from surrounding warlike
nations.
WHAT WAS
GOD'S PURPOSE IN ALL OF THIS?
"... the Lord thy God led thee these forty
years in the wilderness, TO HUMBLE THEE,
and to prove thee, to know what was in thine
heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."(Deuteronomy 8:2)
There we have it!
God's purpose was to humble them to determine what was in their hearts. And
what was in their hearts? Murmuring, complaining, fear, idolatry, tempting,
fornication, lust.
Of course when
pushed they would still have said that they trusted God but were fearful that
He couldn't look after their needs. Out of their fear came worry and out of
their worry came all their other sins.
WHAT WAS
THE CAUSE OF
THEIR WORRY?
ANSWER:
FEAR
THAT GOD COULDN'T PROVIDE
FOR THEM!
WHAT WAS
THE RESULT?
God let
them wander around in the desert
for forty
years till a certain number of
them had
died off.
NOW, WHAT
IS THE CAUSE OF
YOUR WORRY?
WHY DO YOU
WORRY SO MUCH?
WHY DOES
WORRY GET OUT OF
CONTROL IN
YOUR LIFE?
ANSWER: FEAR
It is the fear
that you are on your own and that God couldn't possibly be looking after you.
It is the fear that unless you take action to get this, get that job, make that
money, get that promotion, have that house/ fire/ car/ personal/ dental/ hospital
insurance, take that holiday, private education for the children, contribute to
your superannuation etc. (and the list goes on), your life will go down the
drain.
It is a fear that
you won't have enough. It is the fear of what someone will do to you, it is a
fear of heights, it is a fear of crowds, it is a fear of being alone.
Modern psychiatric
manuals have literally hundreds of fears categorized and they are called
phobias and neuroses.
WHAT IS
BEHIND THE FEAR?
ANSWER:
Lack - and that you won't get
what you
want!
WHAT IS THE
END RESULT OF WORRY?
Mental
institutions are choc-o-block with people who worried and had breakdowns.
Jails are full of
people who worried and thought they'd take matters into their own hands.
Old People's Homes
are overrun with old people who worry.
People who rent
are worried that they'll never own their own home.
WHAT DOES
GOD SAY ABOUT FEAR AND WORRY?
The Bible
says that worry is a sin "...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
(Romans 14:23).
"For God hath not given us the spirit of
fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
(2 Timothy 1: 7)
WHAT SHOULD
I DO ABOUT WORRYING?
The Bible says:
"In every
thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning
you."
(1 Thessalonians
5:18)
"Beloved, think
it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though
some strange thing happened unto you."
(1 Peter 4: 12)
"Casting
all your care upon him; for he careth for you."(1
Peter 5:7)
"My brethren,
count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have
her perfect work, that ye maybe perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
(James 1:2-4)
... in thy
presence is fulness of joy ..."
(Psalm
16:11)
"But as for
you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good ..."
(Genesis
50:20)
"Do all
things without murmurings and disputings." (Philippians 2:14)
Rejoice in the
Lord alway: and again l say,
Rejoice." (Philippians 4:4)
"And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose."
(Romans
8:28)
When we don't obey
the above Scriptures we are sinning by disobeying God and we say to Him that we
know better!
SUMMARY:
1. Worry comes
from fear.
2. Fear
comes from not trusting God.
3.
Therefore worry is a sin because we don't trust that God can take care of us.
4. Anything
that is not of faith is a sin therefore worry is sin.
5.Worry as
a sin needs to be repented of before God.
6.Put into
practice God's word about what He says to do with cares and worry.
NOW YOU MAY NOT BE A CHRISTIAN
If you're not a Christian
because you have
not trusted Jesus Christ alone
for salvation,
you are doomed to helping
yourself with
your worry problem e.g.
Transcendental Meditation, Rosary beads, Buddhist retreats, alcohol to get
relief, extramarital affairs, more holidays and the list
just goes on and on and on.
IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN
Why does God put you in situations?
You can take Deuteronomy 8:2 and apply it to yourself: "... the
Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, TO HUMBLE THEE, and to prove thee, TO KNOW WHAT WAS lN THlNE HEART, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."
Dear Christian, what's in your heart? God's in the
humbling business and He will develop the fruits of the Spirit in you.
How quickly that happens is up to you.
All your huffing and puffing, groaning and moaning, fear and worry won't shift Him one inch. (By the way, there is such a thing as a prayer of unbelief whereby you just keep hammering God like He hasn't heard you. God can make you "tread water" for as long as He wants!)
By
Harley Hitchcock
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
I FEEL A FAILURE
(OR I really must do something
about
my self-esteem!)
Australian Bible Ministries, PO
Box 5058 Mt. Gravatt East 4122 Qld, Australia
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com