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Peace is victorious over Pride & Worry

Peace is victorious over Pride & Worry

Proverbs 27:1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

I think things to death. It is not really the problem with making a decision, I just seem to think through all the options, all the variables, look at all the outcomes, before making those decisions. Much of that is the DNA that God wired me with; much of that comes from running a service business for so many years. It is funny how even in my years of rebellion against God, I still lived for the moment; seeking the pleasure of the moment. Then God got ahold of my heart and placed eternity there, and I saw things through a different lens. I saw and felt what lie before me; it did not bring worry about tomorrow, but peace and security about it. I did not need to worry about it, for I was secure in it, and I could concentrate on today.

Christ taught directly on all these worries that take our peace away in Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.(ESV) Satan will still come at you with the anxieties; he is here to steal, kill, and destroy all that you are with Christ; but he cannot! When those attacks come, and they will, go to God’s Word and prayer, for seeking Him and the strength found in them for the day. Concentrate on the day, for many times worry is centered around future events of which you have no control. But that peace is found in know HE is in control!

James spoke to the opposing side of worry, pride. Those times when in your power you make your plans, that may not be God’s plans for you. All throughout the Bible there are warnings about how much God hates the pride of life. James 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.  So if we are not to worry, and we are not to be prideful in our planning, what are we to do? Concentrate on living this day in the center of God’s Will for you life just for the day. A heart that seeks Him, will find him, and understand the meaning of a daily life with him. It can start today when you spend time with him in prayer and his Word.

 
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Posted by on August 3, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Focus on today

Focus on today

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Most of the time my anxieties center around the pressures of life; the worries of tomorrow. I can seem to handle the stresses of the day, but it may be the worry of the stress of tomorrow that get to me. If it is mostly about tomorrow, then it is fully out of my control. I am not guaranteed tomorrow, so why should I waste today worrying about what I cannot control? This were Satan has his victory in these battles; he robs us of our joy of today. Matthew 6:25-34 speaks directly to these types of anxiety. 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

How many todays are lost in the worry of tomorrows? God places you in a circle of influence; a setting for you to have possible joy for they day. He may place someone before you that needs to hear of Him; that needs that encouraging word that you can give them of your faith in Christ. That person that may be able to relate to your testimony, they may be walking directly in the struggles you have faced with the strength now in Christ; you can now share that with them. 2 Corinthians 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Everything we face today we now face with Christ. We must continually seek Christ to tap into this strength; we cannot rely upon our own.

I am trying really hard to seek God for help in this area of my life right now. I have come to describe my anxiety/depression as the Apostle Paul did as, “ my thorn in the flesh”.  Paul pled for God to take it from him, but God let it stay to keep Paul humble, and to keep Paul’s eyes on God. 2 Corinthians 10:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. When you are in the middle of worry, get into the center of it with the strength of God.

 
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Posted by on November 26, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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