A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day (September 7, 2017)
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matthew 6:27-33, NKJV)
Have you ever met someone who was a worrier? You know the type. When things are going bad, they worry because things are bad. When things are good, they worry because things might get bad. Well, let me ask you this. Did you know that when you worry, you limit God and what He can do for you? According to the Bible, worry is a sin! When we worry, we are not in faith and anything that is not of faith is sin.
Several times in Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, He addressed the subject of worry. In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus commands us not to worry (vv. 25, 27-28, 31,34). But why should it matter if we worry or not. What’s the big deal anyway? Worry, which is a type of fear, is the opposite of faith. In the English language, we have words that have opposite meanings. If I were to ask you the opposite of hot, you would immediately say cold. If I asked you the opposite of up, you would quickly say down. If I asked you the opposite of east, you would immediately say west. Why? Because they are opposites. They not only are opposed to each other, they cannot exist together at the same time.
Sometimes when you translate from one language to another, the meaning can be lost. That’s the case with worry. In the Hebrew language, the opposite of worry is faith. Remember, worry is a type of fear.
In the same way that you cannot be going up and down at the same time because they are opposites, you cannot be in worry and be in faith at the same time. When you are in faith, you are not in worry. And when you are in worry, you are not in faith.When Jesus commanded us over and over again to not worry, He knew that worry would kill our faith. Is that so bad to have dead faith? After all who needs faith anyway? Well, in Ephesians 2:8, the Bible says we are saved through faith. James 5:15 says the prayer of faith will heal the sick. Hebrews 11:6 says that without faith it is impossible to please God. In James 1:5-7, we are told that if we want wisdom all we have to do is ask, but if we don’t ask in faith, we won’t get anything. And in Romans 14:23, it says that anything that is not of faith is sin.
So, who needs faith? According to the Bible, God’s Holy Word, only those who want to be saved, healed, who want wisdom, who want to please God, and who want to stay out of sin need faith. To me, that makes faith extremely important, and it also explains why Satan hates it.
Worry is a tool of Satan. He knows that if he can get you to worry, you will not be in faith. When you are not in faith, you will be ineffective as a Christian. So today I will tell you the same thing Jesus did: Do not worry. No matter how bad things look, do not worry.
Remember, as Christians we walk by faith and not by what we see anyway. So when things look bad, look through the eyes of faith and worry will flee.
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