by Shayla Asselin
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 6-7
I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not proud of this. It’s something I have to pray about often. It’s time for a confession... I have a tendency to worry too much. While it stings to admit this, my worry indicates that I put more trust in my abilities than in God’s faithfulness. Ouch.
A few months ago, I was self-reflecting and realized that worry had become a constant in my life. Every little thing that might happen, or might not happen, made me anxious, so I started praying about it and studying Scriptures about it. After praying and reading, I came to a harsh realization. Worry is a sin. In Philippians 4:6, Paul commands us that we should not be anxious about anything. Romans 14:23 says,
...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
That gets right to the point. To worry is the opposite of faith, and if it’s not of faith, it is a sin.
Last night, I sat down and tried to count the times my worrying had changed the outcome of a situation. As you might have already guessed, I could not recall one time that worry had made any situation better. I could think of a few times it made it worse, but never better. Worry has deprived me of sleep, created stress, made me irritable, but it has never helped me.
In Matthew 6: 25, Jesus says,
...take no thought for your life.
If the Father clothes the flowers in the field and feeds the birds in the air, don’t you think He will take care of you? Remember the children’s song, “He’s got the whole world in His hands. He’s got the mommies and the daddies in His hands. He’s got the brothers and the sisters in His hands. He’s got the little bitty baby in His hands. He’s got the whole world in His hands.”
I go to Savannah Holy Church of God, and Pastor Ralston has encouraged our church with this motto -
“Expect God’s faithfulness.”
I’d like to challenge you to do the same. In Psalms, David said that he had never seen the righteous forsaken. I, like David, have seen God repeatedly prove His faithfulness to His people. I’ve known Him too long not to trust Him.
After Paul commands the church not to be anxious in Philippians 4:6, he shares the blessing that Christians who trust God will receive - a peace that passes our understanding. Maybe things don’t look favorable, maybe there are uncertainties, but because we trust God, we have hope that everything will turn out just right.
We can lay our head down tonight and go to sleep knowing that He holds tomorrow in His hands. I encourage you to rest in the peace that passes all understanding.
Don’t play the what-if-things-go-terribly-wrong game. Friend, what if everything goes incredibly right! Don’t we serve a God Who is able to do exceeding, abundantly above anything we can ask or think? Don’t be discouraged. Don’t be anxious. Don’t worry.
What if God blesses you with the baby you’ve been praying for?
What if God restores your marriage?
What if God meets that financial need?
What if God saves your family?
What if God heals your body?
What if God does exactly what He promised us He would do?
Do you believe He can answer your prayers? I do. With every ounce of my being, I believe God could divinely work on your behalf at this very moment. With God, nothing is impossible.
I ask you to cleanse your heart of worry and throw your heart open to the faithfulness of God. If you’re worried about it, you haven’t surrendered it to Jesus.
Please give it to Him. I promise He will take care of you if you’ll just let Him.
Don’t worry. Trust Jesus. We have a hope worth holding on to.
