At times I go to bed with both physical and emotional fatigue. The day was long, and the news of the day overwhelms me. I should pray yet know I will not stay awake. While I’ve not said this aloud, I’m thinking, “I’ll let God worry about all that stuff.” As if God worries. This year’s devotions focus on what God is, but today the focus is what God is not; He isn’t a worrywart!
How do I know that? The biggest reason is that He tells me not to worry and since His goal is that I become more like Jesus, I must assume that being like Him means not being worried.
Another reason is the definition. To be worried means becoming concerned, or fearful about something. It most frequently refers to an unhealthy and unproductive concern or worry about events and circumstances. This is especially true of a focus on physical and temporary matters rather than spiritual matters. Since God can do whatever He determines to do in both the physical and spiritual realm, and since He is not the author of fear, worry is not one of His attributes. And He tells His people to not go there:
Psalm 127:2. “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”
Isaiah 35:4. “Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.’ ”
Jeremiah 17:7–8. “Blessed is the man whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Yet there are at least two OT cases for worry. It is legitimate if God reveals something that I need to give attention to, something that requires prayer and/or action on my part. Daniel was given visions and he said, “My spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me.” This motivated him to seek truth from the Lord.
Another positive case for worry is Psalm 38:18: “I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin” and the word for ‘sorry’ is ‘worry’ — indicating that it is right to be concerned and fearful about our sin, for that kind of response to it leads to repentance:
2 Corinthians 7:9–10. “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
Neither example show that God worries, only that when we worry, it ought to be a godly concern for a deeper spiritual life and a closer relationship with our Lord.
The NT pattern is the same. God tells me not to worry about my life and the temporal needs of life. Such anxiety is lack of faith in His care. It can also lead to being critical of others who don’t share my beliefs.
Luke 12:22–31. “ . . . Do not be anxious about your life . . . food . . . body . . . clothes . . . Consider the ravens . . . God feeds them . . . and clothes the lilies . . . how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
Luke 10:40–42. “Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things . . . .’ ”
The Bible tells me not to worry about what I will say to those who oppose my faith, or anything else.
Philippians 4:6–7. “Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Yet there is a legitimate worry: concern for others. This concern is not about lack of sleep or ulcers, but a motivation for prayer and action that shares or lifts burdens.
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. I can let worry take my focus off the power of God, or distract me from whatever I should be doing, or be critical of those I think should be doing something. Instead, God wants me to use anxiety as motivation for prayer and service, trusting Him rather than getting knotted up and trying to check things off His to-do list.
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