Worry (a silent sin)

In the Bible, we are told several times not to worry. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus told His followers "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorow will worry about its own things. Each day has its own troubles". Again in Philipipians 4:6 we are told to "be anxious for nothing". Why then, as Christians, do we still stress over the everyday pressures of life?

If you are the type that worries (and we all do) then I suggest you stop now because whether you realize it or not, worry is a sin. It's a sin of lacking faith in God. God says that nothing by any means will ever harm us and there are no situations that are too hard for Him. Through the death of His son, He has already shown us that He loves us so there really is no reason for us to doubt Him.

But yet and still, we do. When you sit and worry about a problem, you are telling God that you don't believe He can or will come through for you. You're basically calling Him a liar. When we worry, we don't give God the full glory, honor, or attention that He deserves. The Lord tells us to meditate on good things (happiness, success, GOD.... for example). Furthermore He has already promised us that our futures are secure in Him.

"For I know the thoughts I have of you,"declares the Lord. "Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

We as Christians have got to learn to take God at His word. This is called faith. And without faith it is impossible to please Him for he who comes to God must believe (see Hebrews 11:6).

It has been my experience that worrying never ever ever helps a situation. In most cases, it makes things worse. Take the story of Jesus walking on the water. When He approached His disciples Peter challenged Him, saying, "Lord if it is You, tell me to come to You on the water." Peter then gets out of the boat and starts walking toward Jesus on the water. But when he takes his eyes off Jesus and sees the wind and waves, he begins to sink.

The same thing happens to us when we worry. We start looking at the problem, and not the Problem Solver and our problems overcome us. For this same reason, Satan gains footholds in our lives. While your mind is off God, Satan starts to talk to you and tempt you. He starts off by pointing out your needs and picking at the problem that has you worried. Then he starts offering you ways to fix the issue. The only problem is, Satan offers to fix a legitimate need, in an illegitimate way. "Need more money? .... Go ahead and steal," he suggests. "Feeling unloved and lonely ..... have sex with him (just this one time) it won't hurt and besides, you need it." See the problem here? And the scary thing is, you're not looking at Jesus so you listen to him and go along with the devil's tricks. For indeed, had you ben looking at Jesus, you would've saw Him with His hands stretched out, begging you to keep pulling forward and reminding you of His promises. When you keep your focus on God, evrything else seems insignificant.

So I pose this question to you today, is there anything too hard for the Lord? If you said no (and actually believed it) then I challenge you today to stop worrying. Relax... God knows your needs. He has told us that if we take care of His business first, He will certainly take care of ours (see matthew 6:33). God says that when you start feeling stressed, pray and read the Word and His peace will overcome you. Don't make the mistake of sinking because you let God out of your sight.
~Jasmine