[BBC List] worry warthog

Tue Dec 19 11:41:22 EASST 2006

by John MacArthur           

A Worried Christian?

We all have to admit that worry is a common temptation in life-for many it
is a favorite pastime. America, the most affluent society in the world is
also the most worry-filled society in the world-that is, if spending on
security, mental illnesses, and intoxicants are any indication. Americans
worry, and worry is a sin. It is neither insignificant, nor inconsequential.
And for the Christian, it is absolutely contrary to faith Christ.

Jesus categorically prohibited worry in a familiar portion of the Sermon on
the Mount-Matthew 6:25-34. Three times in that short passage He commanded,
"Do not worry!", and the way He said it shows the comprehensiveness of His
charge. In verse 25 He acknowledges worry as a common practice and says,
"Stop worrying;" in verses 31 and 34 He uses the same word, but in a way
that means "Don't even start worrying." To continue worrying about anything,
or to start worrying in the first place, is to violate the Lord's command.

If you worry, what kind of faith do you manifest? "Little faith," according
to Jesus (Matt. 6:30). Now if you are a child of God, by definition you have
a Heavenly Father. To act like you don't-nervously asking, "What shall I
eat? What shall I drink? With what shall I clothe myself?"-is to act like an
unbeliever in God's eyes (vv. 31-32).

Think about it this way: Christians who worry believe God can redeem them,
break the shackles of Satan, take them from hell to heaven, put them into
His kingdom, and give them eternal life, but just don't think He can get
them through the next couple of days. That is pretty ridiculous, isn't it?
That we can believe God for the greater gift and then stumble and not
believe Him for the lesser one reveals an embarrassing lack of faith.

The Worrier Strikes Out at God

Someone might say, "Why make a big deal out of worry? It's just a trivial
sin." No, it is not. I suspect a majority of mental illnesses and some
physical illnesses are directly related to worry. Many cases of drunkenness
and drug addiction are symptomatic of worry. And because of worry, many make
foolish life decisions, incurring painful consequences. Worry is
devastating. But more important than what worry does to you is what you are
communicating about God. When you worry you are saying in effect, "God, I
just don't think I can trust You." Worry strikes a blow at the person and
character of God.

The Worrier Disbelieves Scripture

It breaks my heart to hear some Christians claim to believe in the inerrancy
of Scripture, and then live as perpetual worriers. If you do that, you are
saying one thing out of one side of your mouth, and another thing out of the
other. It is incongruous to say how much you believe the Bible and then
worry about God fulfilling what He says in it.

The Worrier Is Mastered by Circumstances

When you worry, you are choosing to be mastered by your circumstances
instead of by the truth of God. The vicissitudes and trials of life pale in
comparison to the greatness of salvation. Jesus wants you to realize it
doesn't make sense to believe God can save you from eternal hell, but not
help you in the practical matters of life. The Apostle Paul reflects a
similar desire in Ephesians 1:18-19: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may
be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what
are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is
the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe." When you catch
yourself worrying, go back to Scripture and let God open your eyes again.

The Worrier Distrusts God

When you worry, you are not trusting your Heavenly Father. That means you
don't know Him well enough. Take heart-there's an effective remedy: Study
the Word of God to find out who He really is and how He has supplied the
needs of His people in the past. That will build confidence for the future.
Stay fresh in the Word every day so that God is in your mind. Otherwise
Satan is apt to move into the vacuum and tempt you to worry about something.
Let God's track record in Scripture and in your own life assure you that
worry is needless because of God's bounty, senseless because of God's
promise, useless because of its impotence to do anything productive, and
faithless because it is characteristic of unbelievers.

Worry Is Unwise Because of Our Future

Jesus said, "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will
care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt. 6:34). He
was saying, "Don't worry about the future. Even though it will have its
share of problems, they have a way of working themselves out at the time.
Just deal with them as they come, for there's no way to solve them in
advance." Providing for tomorrow is good, but worrying about tomorrow is sin
because God is the God of tomorrow just like He is the God of today.
Lamentations 3:23 tells us His mercies "are new every morning." He feeds us
like He fed the Children of Israel-with just enough manna for the day.

Worrying paralyzes you, making you too upset to accomplish anything
productive. It will seek to do that to you by taking you mentally into
tomorrow until you find something to worry about. Refuse to go along for the
ride. The Lord says you have enough to deal with today. Apply today's
resources to today's needs or you will lose today's joy.

God gives you the glorious gift of life today; live in the light and full
joy of that day, using the resources God supplies. Don't push yourself into
the future and forfeit the day's joy over an anticipated tomorrow that may
never happen. Today is all you really have, for God permits none of us to
live in tomorrow until it turns into today.

Understand this: God gives you strength one day at a time. He gives you what
you need when you need it and doesn't encumber you with excess baggage.
Perhaps your worst fear is how you'd handle a loved one's death. Let me
assure you as a pastor who has kept watch over many Christians finding
themselves in that situation, this is the attitude I most often encounter:
"It is so wonderful how God has sustained me! I naturally miss my beloved,
but I feel such incredible strength and confidence and a gladness in my
heart that my loved one is with the Lord." God gives us His grace in the
hour we need it. If we worry about the future now, we double our pain
without having the grace to deal with it.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever" (Heb. 13:8).
That means He will be doing the same thing tomorrow that He was doing
yesterday. If you have any question about the future, look at the past. Did
He sustain you then? Don't worry-He will sustain you in the future as well.

Thanks.

Charis,

Mike Abendroth

 <http://www.bbcchurch.org> www.bbcchurch.org

2 Tim 1:2b  "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our
Lord."

"After the reading of Scripture, which I strenuously inculcate, and more
than any other ... I recommend that the Commentaries of Calvin be read ...
For I affirm that in the interpretation of the Scriptures Calvin is
incomparable, and that his Commentaries are more to be valued than anything
that is handed down to us in the writings of the Fathers -- so much that I
concede to him a certain spirit of prophecy in which he stands distinguished
above others, above most, indeed, above all."  Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609)

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