Stress-N-Worry

Stress & Worry:

Some time ago I heard part of a sermon by Rick Warren about how a Christian can “truly know” if one is friend of God. Pastor Warren explored Matthew 6:25-34 with emphasis on vv.25-26, “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?”

Pastor Warren’s point is that those who truly are the friends of God have no issues with stress, worry, and anxiety because they know that God’s got this - whatever “this” may be.

Going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, which is the way God intended things to be - AND - how things will be again, we find no religious system, no sacrifices, no rituals, no “order of worship,” etc. What we find is a man and a woman happy, healthy, stress-free, carefree, joyful, and ALIVE because they were friends with Yahweh Elohim - the LORD God.

It was only when we, humanity, decided to exercise selfish independence regarding decision making that stuff went sideways - things got jacked up - that “LIFE” became twisted, mangled, mutilated beyond all recognition, and wholly ruined… because, just as God had warned, “for on the day you eat from it you will certainly die” (Gen 2:17).

We’ve conveniently redefined “life” as having a pulse and/or brain activity, but our Creator’s definition (the only one that matters) was never so foolish, boorish, or absurd. Prior to humanity’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, in fact prior to the foundation of the world, God had already determined to provide a way for humanity’s return to His Presence - to LIFE. God Himself would enter the chaotic darkness that we caused; then He would suffer and die at our violent and wicked hands in order to pay our penalty and make the homecoming possible.

God’s “curse” upon the man in Genesis 3:19 was actually a gracious blessing. When God said, “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread until you return to the ground…” what God was saying is that we would recognize the profound reality of our death sentence, i.e. separation from God, through the anxiety, stress, and worry of life - i.e. the “sweat of your brow.” This expression does not mean the literal sweat that comes from intense physical labor, which is a good, necessary, and wonderful thing; It means that the status of our relationship with God can be instantly and intimately revealed by our attitude regarding the circumstances of life.

Are you freaked out, worried, stressed, anxious, afflicted, or burdened by life? If so, then what you’re doing is demonstrating the exact opposite of faith.

You’re either in that condition of panic because you chose to make plans and decisions without ever TRULY consulting God in quiet and patient prayer and now want God to swoop in and rescue you - OR - you did consult God and have now reneged, withdrawn, and lost your faith in “the valley of the shadow of death.” That’s not me passing judgment on you - that’s me speaking from a wealth of experience because I’ve been in both places many times.

There are a couple of passages of Scripture that God has used to teach me about unshakable faith, which I’d like to share with you. The first is from the book of Job. Throughout the book of Job - he, Job, is clueless regarding the stuff going on “behind the scenes,” i.e. Satan’s desire to get Job to blaspheme God and call the LORD’s righteousness and justice into question. Toward the end of the book Job is struggling and begins to question God’s practices, motives and justice… then Job gets his wish when God thunderously appears and unrelentingly heralds His majesty and power for the next four chapters! At the end of God’s discourse Job, overcome with God’s awe and wonder, simply says in 42:2:

“I know that you can do anything. No purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Job went from a position of hubris and fear, flirting with doubt and mutiny of faith - to a position of unshakable faith and absolute certainty in saying, “I know that you can do anything.”

The other passage of Scripture comes from Proverbs 21:30:

“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD.”

There comes a point in our lives when we can either recognize that God truly is Sovereign over ALL THINGS - or - we can play the pathetic Christian religion game of showing up to church, singing songs, even being moved to tears on occasion, and feeling guilty for not “trying harder” or “being better,” but then never truly surrendering everything.

I’m sharing with you from the plethora of failures I’ve experienced regarding my faith in God - not from my pristine faith record. But I can tell you that when we do surrender, wait patiently, trust in God’s faithfulness and sovereignty, believe in His love with “reckless” abandon, and LIVE wholly on the promise that He CAN DO ANYTHING and believe in the depths of our hearts that there truly is no wisdom, insight, or plan that can succeed against the LORD…  that’s when God does the most amazing, miraculous, and beautiful things in, with, and through our lives.

Let’s make 2016 a year where, come what may, we DELIBERATELY choose to trust that God can, and will, do the miraculous in, with and through our lives - not for our sake, but for the sake of His name, His glory, His renown, and His mission: To bring our family members, friends, and neighbors, i.e. the dead and deceived of humanity, from the kingdom of darkness into His kingdom of light and experience eternal life through the gospel of Jesus Christ!

When stress and worry come this year may your prayer simply be one of confident trust, “LORD, I know that you can do anything.”

Blessings in 2016!

-Kevin