Bobby McFerrin's toe-tapping song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" says "In every life we have some trouble, when you worry you make it double" and "Don't Worry be happy 'cause when you worry your face will frown and that will bring everybody down."
Are we downers for the people around us or do we practice a God-pleasing faith that lifts their spirits? Do they see us struggling to work things out as if we're alone in the world or do they see the light and peace of children cared for by a loving Abba, the Giver of good gifts? Do they feel hopeless when they hear us talk about the future, the nation, the government, the economy or does our trust in God trump all of the above?
We wonder why we don't experience God's miraculous deliverance or win more people to the Lord but we cherish the sin of worry in our hearts, thoughts and on our lips when Jesus clearly said "do not worry" in Luke 12:22 in the following versions of the Bible: NIV, NAS, NCV, NLT, CEV, HCS. The same verse in the Amplified Bible, the ESV, and the YLT command us not to be "anxious" and, here's the kicker, if you're strictly KJV, you've got to figure out how to "take no thought" about both daily and life-or-death issues you face. It's all there in black and white but we've waved this command off as not really counting and renamed worry "concern." As believers we even take pride in how deeply "concerned" we are or that we seem to be the only ones "concerned."
It's time to call worry what it is: a sin that needs to be uprooted by faith. The roots are deep, the habit is entrenched, and we've been brainwashed into saying we believe God cares and is in control while living as if there is no God. This ginormous (yes, it's in the online Merriam-Webster dictionary because I had to look up the spelling) change is a one-thought-at-a time process but don't worry, we don't have to do it alone!
Loving Abba, forgive us for acting as if You don't care when Your other name is Love. How heartbroken I would be if Nick or Julie constantly worried I wouldn't come through for them or didn't care enough to do what I could to help them, yet our own worry hurts Your heart on a daily basis and slanders Your character. Help us pin any suspect thought under the Light of Your Word. Guide us to lock out all thoughts that lead us to worry as we magnify thoughts that magnify Your God-ness and goodness. May we have no mercy on worry as we thrust it away. May our only concern be pleasing You with our growing faith in You because we can't please You without faith. Replace every nagging thought with praise and gratitude for Your loving care in the past and Your promises to go with us into the future. We love You Lord; now help us prove it to You.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!'" Luke 12:22-24
"Be strong and courageous. do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5
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