A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (April 19,2018)
Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. (Philippians 4:6, Amplified Bible).
The scripture tells us to be anxious for nothing, but we live in a world where many people are anxious about everything. If you listen and rely on the news media you will stay in a state of anxiousness. If it’s not the threat of nuclear war, it’s the threat of global warming. If it’s not the Russians, it’s the North Koreans, and on and on it goes. Are you anxious about something? If so, how do you fight this thing?
The first thing that needs to happen is that we need to listen to and rely on God and His Word more than we listen to and rely on the world and the news media. God’s Word says, “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16, NIV).
The great British evangelist George Müller said this, “The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety”. George Müller was a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He cared for 10,024 orphans during his lifetime, and provided educational opportunities for the orphans to the point that he was even accused by some of raising the poor above their natural station in British life. He established 117 schools which offered Christian education to more than 120,000 children. Do you think George Müller may have had an opportunity to be anxious in dealing with all this?
I was listening to a teaching on anxiety the other day by Joseph Prince and he said the following. “The root of anxiety is when we start having a higher regard for ourselves that we do for God”. In other words, we think it is all up to us to solve the problem. The Word of God tells us to cast all of our cares over on Him for He cares for us. It’s not that we don’t have a role to play but we always need to remember it is not by our might, nor by our power, but by His Spirit. He is the leader. We follow Him and His Word. When anxiety tries to enter in, we roll that over on Him.
My eldest son, his wife, and my two grand-daughters came to visit this last weekend. On their way out of town I took my son to Walmart to purchase some diapers and formula for the little one. When we arrived at the checkout line there was one woman in front of us and my son put all of our baby stuff on the counter in back of her stuff. My son then turned to me and said, “Dad, you do know all this is going to be expensive?” I responded to him with this statement. “Son, I am rich. Did you not know that? My father owns all the silver and gold and all the cattle on a thousand hills. He supplies all my needs and if I run out today He will replenish it tomorrow”. The woman checking out in front of us turned to us and pointing at me said, “I’m on his side”.
Don’t get me wrong. I have always believed that we are to do everything we know how to do and do it in excellence and I think the Lord expects that from us. He surely deserves that effort from us. But, what happens when that effort appears not to be good enough? Well, the scripture tells us that when we have done all to stand (Ephesians 6:13). That is where faith needs to enter the picture. We encourage all of you to put on the whole armor of God and stand against the wiles of the devil, which includes anxiety and stress. Remember, Jesus is the Prince of Peace!!!
