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A Glory Seed Devotional
Know Jesus… No worry…
Yesterday I mentioned my worry of slipping and falling but that’s only one worry in the WWW.of_Gary.fear/hope (Worry_Wide_World). There are those who might thing because I am somewhat of a worry wart my faith is wishy-washy and while that may indeed be the case I must not be the only worry wart because the Apostle Paul writing to the WWW of the Philippians wrote…
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” (Philippians 4:6–7, The Message)
When I read this the first thing that hits me is Paul does not condemn me for worrying instead he seems to be affirming the fact that there are things that cause us concern after all didn’t Jesus say that in this life we’d face difficulties. And if that’s the case shouldn’t we be concerned about them?
So rather than condemning Paul instead offers a solution the gospel is the good news of Jesus “fixing” the brokenness of our lives. “God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” (John 3:17, The Message)
To me by not pointing “an accusing finger” at me because I am a worry wart Paul is telling me in chapter 4 of Philippians, “Don’t allow your concerns to take control of your life instead take your concerns to the one who can replace your them with his own life, Jesus.”
While I am no expert in the human science of when a concern becomes worry one thing I know when the concerns of my life begin dictating how I live my life they become not only worrisome but deadly as well. For example if my concern about having another heart attack gets to the point where I affix myself to my recliner and wait for the next one then I have turned control of my life from Jesus to worry.
“It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
Worry’s greatest foe is FAITH! Believe it! Use it! Experience it!
Grace and PEACE!
Gary
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“When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—” (Isaiah 43:2, The Message)
“When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—” (Isaiah 43:2, The Message)
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Scriptures marked MSG have been taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.”