2023-09-04
Isaiah 25:4 NKJV
When you start worrying about the future, recall what God has already brought you through. In situations you thought you wouldn’t survive, He caused you to thrive, right? Nothing can separate you from His love (See Romans 8:38-39). But your anxieties can rob you of the security His love brings.
One writer says: “I was a person who wanted to understand everything because it made me feel I was in control. I was not good at ‘not knowing.’ My mind went on and on all day with thoughts like, Why did I act like that? I wonder what so-and-so is thinking about my decision to buy a new car? Why hasn’t God answered my prayer yet for a promotion at work? I wonder if I’m doing something wrong, or don’t have enough faith? The ‘whys’ in my mind seemed to never cease, and they made me miserable. My mind was home to all sorts of uninvited guests (tormenting thoughts) simply because I never said ‘no’ to them. I wondered, reasoned, worried, fretted, imagined, and was anxious to the point where it left me completely exhausted… God actually showed me that I was addicted to reasoning and that I had to give it up. It didn’t happen overnight, but each time I started my mental gymnastics, I said, ‘I will not worry or try to figure this out,’ and gradually I was able to trust God with my life.”
Today God wants to be your provider, your guide, your adviser, your protector, and your “all in all.” So stand on His Word, which says, “You have been a strength… to the needy in his distress.”
Soul food: Eze 1-4; Mark 10:13-22; Ps 111; Prov 19:18-20
2023-09-03
Matthew 6:31 AMPC
It’s good to have a goal for the future and a plan for reaching it. But it’s not good to project into the future and worry about all the things that could go wrong. That’s anxiety, and it should have no place in your mind as a redeemed child of God.
“Do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear? For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all. But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own” (vv. 31-34 AMPC).
Those Scriptures could be reduced to one line: “Live trusting God each day to take care of you, and stop projecting into the future.” Each morning God gave the Israelites a one-day supply of food. If they tried to gather more, it rotted. God’s message was simple: “Each day I will guide you and provide for you.”
Anxiety can consume you. So when you feel anxious, stand on this Scripture: “It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 AMPC).
Soul food: Acts 20:7-12; Jer 29:4-14
2023-09-02
Psalm 55:22 AMPC
Hannah Whitall Smith tells a story that took place about a hundred years ago, yet it’s as up to date as tomorrow morning’s newspaper. A farmer with a horse and cart notices a man walking along with a heavy sack on his back, so he offers him a ride. The stranger accepts and climbs up onto the cart. But as they proceed down the road, he is still bowed beneath the weight of his sack. The farmer says, “Why don’t you set the sack down?” The stranger replies, “That would be too much to ask. I’m grateful that you’re carrying me, but I would never expect you to carry the sack also.”
That’s what we do when we accept God’s offer of salvation but insist on carrying all our burdens ourselves. “Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you.” God won’t begin working on the problem until you turn it over to Him; He gets involved when He gets invited. We wait until we’re falling apart, then wonder why God doesn’t help. “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2 AMPC).
Have you asked God for help? Have you placed the problem in His hands, confident that He will work it out for your good, patiently waiting for Him to do it? This doesn’t mean you become passive and sit around doing nothing. You need to do what you believe is right and what you have peace about doing. Learn the difference between your part and God’s part and stop frustrating yourself by trying to do what only God can do.
Soul food: Amos 5:18-9:15; Mark 10:1-12; Ps 103:13-22; Prov 19:17
2023-09-01
1 Peter 5:7 NKJV
Anxiety is excessive concern. And if left unchecked, it can rob you of important things like confidence, joy, peace, humor, and perspective. Anxiety comes from obsessing over something; trying to figure out what happened, needing to understand what people are thinking, struggling to decide what to do.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV). Trust requires living with unanswered questions, being satisfied in knowing that God knows what you don’t know. You will never have all the answers. You will never have perfect understanding of things. Even the apostle Paul acknowledged, “We know in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9 KJV).
The cure for anxiety begins with accepting these three things: First, that God knows everything. Second, that God is never surprised. Third, that God is never without a solution. So here are your options: Carry the burden yourself or cast it on the Lord. “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully” (1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). Note the words “all your anxieties… once and for all.”
Learning to live this way takes patience and practice, so don’t expect an overnight miracle. The secret is in giving your anxiety to God one more time than you take it back. Learn to catch yourself in the act. When anxiety comes, say, “Lord, this is not mine, it’s yours. So, I’m giving it to you.” Try it for the next thirty days and see what happens.
Soul food: Amos 1:1-5:17; Mark 9:38-50; Ps 103:1-12; Prov 19:12-16
2023-08-31
Ephesians 3:18 NLT
Paul writes: “I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand… how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete” (vv. 16-19 NLT).
In spite of our best intentions, we still sin. As a result, we feel bad about ourselves. And Satan uses our feelings of guilt and condemnation to make us doubt God’s love for us. But if God loved you enough to send His Son to die on your behalf while you were a full-blown sinner, you can be sure He won’t change His mind about you when you’re His redeemed but struggling child. Feeling bad about sin is actually proof that you truly are God’s child.
When you were born again, you became a regenerate spirit living in an unregenerate body. So when you permit sin to enter your life, your regenerate spirit rises up and says, “Get that out of here, it’s incompatible with who I am.” It’s not that God doesn’t love you when you sin, but that sin is an unwelcome guest that makes you feel bad about yourself and robs you of confidence toward God. So if you have sinned, repent, receive God’s forgiveness, and move forward stronger and wiser.
Soul food: Lam 3:40-5:22; Mark 9:30-37; Ps 84; Prov 19:11
2023-08-30
Proverbs 14:30 NIV
Keeping a positive attitude isn’t always easy; it requires mental discipline. Let’s face it, 95 percent of what we see and hear on the news today is negative. And while you can’t bury your head in the sand, you must protect your mind against the gravitational pull of negative influences around you. This calls for constantly doing two things:
(1) Arresting the wrong thoughts. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Take your wrong thoughts captive; otherwise, they will take you captive!
(2) Activating the right thoughts. “Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things… and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9 NKJV).
Knowing that God is in control of your life and that He is directing your steps will enable you to keep a good attitude when you’re faced with things like long lines, bad weather, difficult relationships, illness, trials, and adversities. Your attitude not only affects the quality of your life but also the length of it: Solomon said, “A heart at peace gives life to the body.” “A relaxed attitude lengthens… life” (v. 30 TLB). Medical science has proven that people with a strong faith who are diagnosed with terminal illness tend to outlive their prognosis and their predicted life span. So, the word for you today is – keep a positive attitude.
Soul food: Lam 1:1-3:39; Mark 9:14-29; Ps 119:169-176; Prov 19:9-10
