HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 364
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Worry continued
possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” But David
persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion
or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb
from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have
done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has
defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion
and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”
When your own problems and obstacles consume you, you give in to fear—that you will
fail, that you will let others down, and that God will not help you when you most need him.
Fear will tempt you to focus on the size of the problem rather than on the size of your God.
When you focus on God instead, you will see him fighting by your side.
• J O H N 1 4 :1 -4 | “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There
is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you
that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get
you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I
am going.”
If you had ten million dollars in the bank, you wouldn’t worry about providing for your family if you lost your job. In the same way, you know that God has provided for your future by
preparing a perfect place for you in heaven. Let that assurance keep you from panicking in
today’s storms. The outcome is certain.
W
Where can I turn when worry overwhelms me?
HelpFinder
• MAT T H E W 6 :2 5 -3 4 | “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether
you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. . . . Can all your worries add
a single moment to your life? . . . So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will
we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ . . . Seek the Kingdom of God above all
else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Jesus’ words suggest three questions you can ask yourself when you start to worry about
something: (1) Is it important? Many of our anxieties revolve around issues that are even less
important than food and clothing. (2) Is it helpful? Worrying is useless; in fact, it’s usually
counterproductive. (3) Who is in charge? God is in control, and your heavenly Father delights
to meet your needs. The evidence of God’s care is everywhere, even in the smallest details
of life. Worry erodes your faith and robs you of the joy of anticipating God’s faithful provision.
What can I do with the problems that worry me?
• PH I L I P P I A NS 4 :6 | Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God
what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
Prayer and a godly perspective drive worry from our minds and hearts. Peace comes when
we pray, release all our cares to the Lord, and focus our minds on the promises of God.
PROMISE FROM GOD
• 1 P E T E R 5 :7 | Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Worship See also Bible; Church; Faith; Forgiveness; Holiness; Presence of
God; Repentance; Serving
We do not think of ourselves as a worshiping culture, let alone an idolatrous culture, but
our behavior suggests otherwise. Consider our weekly gatherings of up to one hundred
thousand frenzied fans observing a ceremony of men dressed in strange garb acting out
a violent drama of conquest. Others stay at home and join in by way of a small glowing shrine set up in the family room. Fans of professional football are probably not even
aware that their behavior could be described as worship. Or consider the way thousands