What Is the Relationship Between Worry and Faith?

Do you know someone who could be classified as a worrywart? A worrywart is someone who constantly worries about everything. This affliction is not rare or isolated but is one that may trouble each person at some juncture along the road of life.

Worry is closely related to doubt. D. L. Moody, the 19^th century evangelist speaking on this subject said, “If you pray for bread and do not bring a basket to carry it, you prove that doubt may be the hindrance to your prayers being answered.”

Realistically, there are dangerous situations and people in this world. Still, statistics prove that most of our worries never take place. Jesus specifically challenges in Matthew 6:25 not to worry about your life, for God will provide for your needs. If God provides for all of his creation, including the birds, how much more important are you? May God bless you today as you faithfully and patiently trust him. 

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Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing, and you will see the wicked destroyed.

~Psalm 37:34 The Living Bible

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Worn Down by Worry?

A little anxiety is not unhealthy when it serves as a deterrent to neglecting responsibilities or opportunities. Anxiety about losing your job serves as motivation to show up on time, ready to work. Some chronic worriers, however, become so fixated on the negatives of life that thanksgiving and happiness are beyond experiencing.

Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or what you will wear. Life is more important than food and clothes.” Jesus spoke these words to help people refocus on what ultimately matters. Worry stifles trust in God while immobilizing the brain’s ability to consider and apply alternative solutions to problems.

Too much worry damages your health by creating headaches, high blood pressure, ulcers and other problems. In place of worry and anxiety, Jesus will give you peace of mind and the desire to express thanksgiving and happiness. He invites you to place all of your worries on him for he knows what distresses you. Do this now.  

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Give your burdens to the Lord. He will carry them. He will not permit the godly to slip or fall.

~Psalm 55:22 The Living Bible

Crisis and Reality - Part 1

The word crisis from the Chinese language means opportunity or danger. Danger represents a potential change or loss from which great pain can be prolonged for years. Danger implies a potential crisis you're forced to face regardless of other choices you would rather make. Opportunity suggests positive choices with minimal stress.

The effectiveness with which we handle a crisis is connected to our ability to manage reality constructively. Ability includes a mentality for comprehending the seriousness of a given situation including a sense of what and who caused a crisis. Ability indicates skills that will be used to affect a productive change.

A personal crisis may come from neglecting our body, family, work, or other relationships. Constructively managing reality begins by giving Christ Jesus first place in your life. It means trusting him with every aspect of your life. When you activate this step, you're in a position to choose opportunities that advance God's purpose and plan for your life.

Integrity: Character Strength for a Lifetime - Part 1

The years between youth and retirement often are filled with giving your absolute best for the highest possible achievement, yet both success and failure are prevalent on the pathway to retirement. You're well aware of the determined adolescent who leaves home for college only to return home a semester later unable to re-enroll because of poor grades.

Getting back on track is a requirement at specific intervals along the way to success. What helps is knowing that God is at work to provide confidence for facing an uncertain future. Jesus gave us these words of challenge. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, about your body, what you will wear." He's telling us to re-focus. God cares and will provide.

Moving past failure and disappointment is ultimately dependent on faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who endows us with intrinsic value and self-worth. This motivates us to be receptive to God's purpose for us as our aging consistently progresses onward. God gives us wisdom and discernment for choosing what is appropriate at each stage of our development.

Work: A Gift from God - Part 1

The wonder of the human species is that we're perpetually in transition, even if changes exist unnoticed. This may be difficult to accept for those who appreciate constancy. God created us for transitions even though change can be disruptive. For those who have reached mid-life, disruptions may be a frequent occurrence whether at work, in the family, or in personal lives.

Turmoil is a time to make needed changes that were previously overlooked. What would you say personally defines you at this stage of your life? What are your major concerns? Jesus asked a related question in Matthew 6:25, "Is not life more important than food for the body, more important than clothes?" How could this question be re-framed for today?

Change could include redefining what you want to pass on to others who observe you, listen to what you say, or use you as a model for their lives. Jesus gave us this guideline: "Seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness and all these other things will be given to you." This might be a difficult choice, but in reality there could be no better decision.