Today's promise: Overcoming
discouragement brings great blessing
What, me worry?
"So I tell you,
don't worry about everyday life — whether you have enough food, drink, and
clothes.
Matthew 6:25 NLT
Give your burdens to the
Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and
fall.
Psalm 55:22 NLT
The mistrust of anxiety
Words of encouragement
from the Master are always welcome. The stresses of life come upon us and a
brother or sister in Christ reminds us that He is in control. He is sovereign,
He knows when the sparrow falls, He numbers the hairs on our heads, He clothes
the lilies of the field. He says not to worry about our life, and we welcome
the suggestion as an encouraging pat on the back.
But how often do we view
this verse as a commandment from on high? It may not carry the force of
"Thou shalt not," and it may not have the emphasis of a "Go into
all the world," but it is written as an imperative nonetheless. "Do
not," Jesus says, and Paul echoes this injunction in Philippians: "Be
anxious for nothing" (4:6). These are our liberating orders. We are told
not to do something we hate doing anyway.
Dare we suggest by our
worry that some catastrophe may slip by without His notice? No,
"tragedies" befell Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, Paul, and others, and
God ordained them all for good. All of these surely could have worried,
examining their circumstances while going through them. But looking back, we
see God's perfect plan unfolding. Therefore Jesus urges, even commands: Do not
worry.
Anxiety does not empty
tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.
CHARLES SPURGEON
Adapted from At His Feet by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House
Publishers (2003), p 40.
Content is derived
from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale
Publishing House
No comments:
Post a Comment