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25th September 2024
WednesdayReflection
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"We Must Focus"
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When believers live only for food, clothes, etc., they debase themselves to being like animals.
Life becomes all about serving our physical body.
Really that is what most advertising is about: "Eat this!" Wear this! Watch this!"
To overcome worry, we must focus on eternal matters - like becoming holy, seeing others saved, growing, and building God's kingdom.
Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable than they are?
It must be noticed that Jesus doesn't say the "bird's Father."
He says the disciples' Father feeds them.
Jesus then says, "Aren't you more valuable than they are?"
Birds are not made in the image of God, nor being recreated in his image.
Therefore, a great amount of our worry happens because we don't understand our immense value to God.
What then shall we say about these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
If God gave his best for us - his Son - how will he not also provide everything else we need?
We are of supreme value. God gave it all for us.
We must learn everything that God says about us and everything that he promises to us.
We must internalize these truths.
The more we do this, the more we'll overcome worry.
Constantly studying God's Word is especially important because the world always tells us something different:
We are an accident of evolution with no purpose.
We need degrees, position, money, and beauty to have value.
But, God says,
"You are my everything - the apple of my eye! I gave it all for you."
We must constantly hear and accept his voice to overcome worry.
To God we are his reward - we are his joy and passion. We are special to him.
Since Paul prays for the Ephesians to know this, it means that they didn't know it as they should, and prayer was a means to grow in this knowledge.
Therefore, we must constantly pray to know it as well.
If the Bible is God's words for us, as it contains his teachings about our value to him, his providence over our lives, and promises to us, and yet we still live in worry, then essentially, we are calling God a liar.
How can God's Word profit us if we don't believe him?
Jesus promises the disciples that if they made God's kingdom and his righteousness their chief priority, all their needs would be met.
Seeking first God's righteousness also includes the conquering of sin in our lives and replacing it with righteous acts and attitudes.
We must pursue the fruits of the Spirit-love, joy, peace, longsuffering, mercy, etc.
We must pursue righteousness by serving and discipling other believers.
But it also includes social justice - pursuing God's righteousness outside the walls of the church.
Believers should feed the poor, fight for the rights of the unborn, the trafficked, and neglected.
Believers must pursue righteous ethics in education, government, and our communities.
As this happens, others are drawn into the kingdom.
When we pursue God's kingdom and his righteousness, God meets our needs, which implies the opposite of this promise is also true.
When we don't pursue his kingdom, but instead neglect God and enjoy the world and sin, we will often lack.
If we pray in every situation, if we bring our petitions (requests) before God in every situation, and if we give thanks in every situation, God will give us his peace.
Worry often overwhelms us because we are not people of prayer-people who constantly pray in every situation.
We pray only when things are bad and not when they are good.
So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Today has enough trouble of its own.
Why does God only provide grace for the day and not for tomorrow or next year?
The reason is because God desires us to be dependent on him, instead of independent of him.
If he provided grace for the week, we would neglect God until next week.
If he provided grace for the year, we would neglect him until next year - all to our own detriment.
Worrying does not enable you to escape evil.
It makes you unfit to cope with it.
The truth is, we always have the strength to bear the trouble when it comes.
But we do not have the strength to bear worrying about it.
So how should we overcome our worries?
Live in the day!
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This is an edited version.
The full article, and Bible references, is avaiable on request
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