Be Anxious For Nothing

 

This is a little ditty I wrote more than twenty years ago. I still sing it. It is God speaking to me and now I'm sharing it with you. 

Be anxious for nothing:

I will provide for you.

You are My bride, my church, my wife.

Needs have I met for you,

My table is set for you;

Tested and tried

You've come forth as gold. 

It is taken from studying The Scriptures, some of which are these two passages, and asking God (praying) to reveal Himself to me and what He wants me to know:

Matthew 6:25-35

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Psalm 23:5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

    God tells us repeatedly in His Word to "worry not, fret not, fear not". But to fully trust in Him for everything. In every situation and circumstance in which we find ourselves we are "stand and withstand" Ephesians 6:13, "be steadfast and immoveable" Colossians 1:23. 

    He also tell us to seek Him out first. "Seek first the kingdom of God." Matthew 6:33 "In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path." Proverbs 3:6 "O God, You are my God, Early will I seek You." Psalm 63:1. Great is the blessing which comes from putting God first in our lives. 

Ephesians 5:21-30 speaks of Christ's great love for His church. 

Being tested and tried is to be expected, for God sits as a Refiner of His people: Malachi 3:3. The Lord is Tester of Hearts: Proverbs 17:3. We are called to suffer and to suffer for righteousness' sake: 1 Peter 3:14. Only by going through the fire of His love can we expect to come forth as a vessel fit for use, whether we are gold or silver or wood or clay. However God wants to use us to advance His kingdom, we need to be willing partners with Him. Our hearts must align with His heart. And that will only happen if His only begotten Son Jesus Christ is living in our hearts. 

Are you ready to be tested and tried? Are you prayed up? Are you filling your hearts and your minds with The Living Word of God? No player goes onto the field without first meeting the requirements of basic game preparedness. No practice, no play. No studying of the game and how it's played, no play. No abiding by team rules and no listening to the coach, no play. If we refuse to obey The Holy Spirt, we will not be able to survive the tests and trials in which God places us for His purposes. 

Be anxious for nothing

I will provide for you

You are My bride, my church, my wife

Needs have I met for you

My table is set for you

Tested and tried

You've come forth as gold. 

REFINER'S FIRE 

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call to Trust In The Lord

 

    Psalm 37:3

Trust (rely on and have confidence) in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and feed (securely) on His faithfulness.

    Trust is bold confidence. I have to ask myself, 'Am I trusting in the LORD in this way?'  Yes. Otherwise this peace that I have in every situation I find myself in would simply disappear and I would be fraught with needless worry and anxieties. 

    While I do get anxious sometimes, because I don't like to be forgotten or ignored, my trust in God is still firmly in place. My faith is anchored in the LORD and if someone forgets to pick me up or is late, I have turned it into prayer time. Or study time. 

    The LORD tells me not to worry about when my everyday needs will be met or if and how they are met. He has everything under control. I am clothed. I am fed. I am sheltered. Matthew 6:25-34. 

    The LORD reminds me that I am His now that I believe that He is God's only begotten Son; that He died on the cross for me and took back the keys of hell and death from Satan; that He rose from the grave and ascended to His Father. Even now Christ is seated at God's right hand, where He intercedes on my behalf. John 3:16-18; Romans 10:13, Acts 2:21;  Acts 2:22-36; Revelation 1:8; Hebrews 9.

    Therefore, I TRUST IN THE LORD with all of my heart. My Faith is in God and God has a plan and a purpose for everyone. Rewards for they who believe and punishments for they who do not. The unbeliever can get anxious and worrisome; I will not, for I TRUST in The LORD God. 

    A crucified life seeks the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness. There is only room for Trust, a full confidence in that God's will and purpose is better than mine. The LORD calls His people to Trust in Him. If you are His people, He's calling you to Trust in Him. If you are not His people yet, He's calling you to salvation through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ and to Trust Him. 

    Trust that God has a better plan for your life than you do. Trust that God's plan of salvation will save your soul and change your life in ways you cannot even begin to imagine. 

    Our money is imprinted with the phrase "In God We Trust". Are our hearts and minds imprinted with this phrase, as well? We are instructed in this verse to also "feed on His faithfulness". How has God been faithful to you? in the day? in the night? in tough times and good times? in sorrow and in joy? He is ALWAYS NEAR. 

CALLED TO TRUST

First Things First - Consumed By Fire

Gratitude - Brandon Lake

Help Is On The Way - TobyMac

Speak To The Mountains - Chris McClarney

Rise Up - CAIN

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

God Really Loves Us - Crowder, Dante Bowe

Trading My Sorrows - Darrell Evans, Integrity Music

Guard Your Hearts - - Obtaining His Peace

 

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 

Peace of God: one, quietness, rest, peace of mind, to join together as a whole, God's gift of wholeness

From the Greek word 'eiréné' (pronounced  i-ray'-nay). 

    This Peace of God is only made possible when the born again believer is IN CHRIST. We know He is in us when we exercise our faith and believe in Him as our Lord and Savior. But we are In Christ when we are in The Word, when we live The Word and The Word lives and thrives in us. Do people see Jesus in you when they look in your direction? Has a total stranger come up to you and said, "You're a Christian. I can tell," without you ever having said a word? This has happened to me a few times. I am so very thankful that Christ is in me and I am in Christ. 

    To get the full gist of this verse we need to read the verse previous and the verse after:

6. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

8. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.

    The psalmist wrote (Psalm 42:5), "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence." In Christ there is no reason to be downcast, to be sad, to be anxious. In Christ we have peace. The psalmist had hope as he reminded himself (and us). He had hope in God: in God's Word, in God's presence. 

FILL OUR MINDS CAREFULLY

    Be anxious for nothing, Paul writes to the church in Philippi. The church must have been suffering, going through hard times. For unknown reasons Paul was urged by the Spirit to encourage the church in Philippi to be "anxious for nothing". Don't worry, don't stress. Instead, bring your requests to God. He was reminding them to pray. And to pray diligently. 

    Paul also reminds the church to be careful of how they think; to think with intelligence and wisdom:

• Whatever is True (don't harbor lies)
• Whatever is Honorable (have integrity)
• Whatever is Right (uncorrupted)
• Whatever is Pure (no impure thoughts)
• Whatever is Lovely (no unpleasant thoughts)
• Whatever is Admirable (no shameful, despicable thoughts)
• Excellent (not ugly, not crude, not detestable thoughts)
• Praiseworthy (dishonorable, disrespectful thoughts)

    The opposite of all these positive ways to think is a distraction from how God wants us to think. How do we obtain God's peace? By reading God's Word. By praying God's Word. By living God's Word. By speaking God's Word. In other words, God's Word is essential to the church's, to the born again believer's way of life, which includes how we think. 

Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

    When we pray, we are to pray expecting. Expecting God to keep His promise: His Peace will guard our hearts. In Christ. The believer is in Christ through the power of God's Holy Spirit. And Christ is most definitely in the believer through the power of God's Holy Spirit. 

    What thoughts are more wonderful than thinking on God's Holy Word? What thoughts are more powerful than thinking on God's Holy Word? None. Once the Word of God is in us, it is up to us to keep it at the forefront of our thinking. 

    Waking up with thoughts of praise and worship are wonderful ways to greet our day. Keeping those thoughts there is the challenge. It is then that we call on God to guard our tongues, as well. To keep us near Him and speak only what He wants us to speak, that our words be gentle, kind and loving. The frustrated heart should keep the tongue silent. 

GOD IS JUDGE

    The church is living an age when all the forces of evil are again coming against it. The only secure refuge is in God. Psalm 37:7 "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass." And again, in Psalm 37:1, 8 1. "Do not fret over doers of evil; do not envy those who do wrong." 8. Refrain from anger and abandon wrath; do not fret--it can only bring harm."

    In other words, let God handle the wrong that is being done to the church and in the church. Be aware now that God will accomplish His purpose in the church first before He moves onto they who come against her. So we need to be "strong in the LORD and in the power of His might" (Ephesians 6:10). His strength and His power is, after all, part of our uniform, so to speak, part of our soldiers of Christ gear. 

    Acts 17:31 "For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” 

     Christ will judge the thoughts of mankind, too. Which is why The Word warns us against thinking bad thoughts, unkind thoughts, unloving thoughts. When we love like Christ ("love one another as I have loved you" [John 13:34]), it is impossible to have ugly thoughts roaming our mind. 

    When we live In Christ, we live in the Love of Christ. We are His temple, His residence. Our bodies are in His body, His service. It is our job to keep the temple clean. 

    We sweep away the cobwebs of thoughtlessness and think with purpose, a higher purpose. We wash the floors of dirt and grime (impurities) and walk in The Word that is in us. We scrub the walls of our minds and brush off the years of thinking outside The Word, that thinking on The Word of God will be etched and embedded within us. We make room for The Word of God when we, first, ask Him into our hearts, and second, read and study His Word faithfully. 

KNOW GOD, KNOW PEACE

    God's Word must be in us in order for us to think wonderful thoughts that His Peace would be able to guard our hearts and our minds. Let us come into His presence with humble hearts, ask and receive His forgiveness for our arrogance in thinking we can do it all by ourselves. We can't do anything on our own. We need to be faithful in our prayer times, even as His Word says, "Pray without ceasing." 

    If we are in constant communication with our God, then we know that we have this Peace. Why wait until you're at the end of your rope to reach out to God, to cry out to God, when you can talk to God before you ever touch the rope? Ephesians 2:12 "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ."

LET US PRAY by Steven Curtis Chapman

PERSON IN CHRIST  by Tenielle Neda

PERFECT PEACE by Bec Armour

YET NOT I BUT THROUGH CHRIST IN ME by CityAlight

HERO by Seph Schlueter