SEVEN EPIPHANIES ON WORRY

We live in an infected world plagued with contagious anxiety, the ugly child of worry. Anxiety is subtle, slipping in unannounced to lay siege on our mind, gripping us in uneasiness, dread, fear and doubt. “Let not your heart be troubled.”  God will not keep our heart from being troubled!  This is a command in the Greek, a willful act as is “Be anxious for nothing.” Nothing? Yes, Nothing!  Renewed minds look skyward.

Worry implies a lack of trust that God knows best and is powerful enough and willing to interject His remedies into our circumstances. Hidden deep within the labyrinthine of worry is the master “Self”, who has a death-grip on control. We worry about the important and the mundane with equal vigor as if this movie called “Life” is all about us: Read the credits:  written by, produced by, directed by and starring God! So... “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.”

Worry is Self’s way of sorting things out, we are all masters at it and our life is littered with opportunities. Worry is a choice with a cost. Joy and Peace, which are inextricably linked together and diametrically opposed to worry, are the price paid. When we choose to trust God, the Peace of God, that bypasses our understanding, is apprehended and comes to mount guard over our heart and mind. And Wala... “Joy inexpressible and full of glory”!

Worry affects our health, our relationships, and our Kingdom works, producing a joyless, spiritually weak, miserable, depressing, defeated life. Joy during adversity is a barometer of our spiritual maturity... our divine healthiness: If we truly love God we will trust Him, for just how can we claim to love a God we don’t trust? And trust brings God’s supernatural Peace soaring on the wings of Joy... “The Joy of the Lord is our strength.” So even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death... we will fear no evil... for God is with us! And... It’s only a shadow! True reality is God’s Kingdom invasion into our “Now.” Remember, we are In The Beloved... In Christ. And... He is in us! We are never alone...

Worry is a perpetual emotion machine, a fretting dynamo, feeding itself with itself to continually reproduce itself. Swapping anxiety for peace and melancholy for joy, worry burns through earth’s most precious commodity leaving wasted years in its wake. Worry is the product of an earthly mind set, and abandons us to despair, having nothing to offer but more of itself. But the Spirit of the Lord says... “Why are you cast down O my soul… Set your mind on things above... Hope in God.”

God promises, grace releases, and we apprehend by doing. Is there a better demonstration of faith in the face of adversity then Joy, being joyful in all circumstances... to “Count it all Joy”? There is no “wiggle room” here for everything in life is part of this ALL. To “count” is to reckon, choosing trust over worry moment by moment – stopping to pick ourselves up when we slip and fail, until trust becomes a spiritual discipline, a divine habit. Joy during adversity is a work of faith, trusting in God’s goodness in spite of any apparent evidence against it, recognizing His ways are above our understanding.

Worry is simply fear in the face of adversity: we have a choice, we can fear God, or fear everything else. To fear God is to revere, honor and respect Him, to extol His name, and to trust in Him as the good and sovereign God who is ever present... especially when our life is out of control. When difficulties strike I know five amazing God things:  God is faithful even when I am not, for He cannot deny his love for me.  God will never leave me or forsake me, never!  God has made a way of escape that I may be able to bear the difficulty.  God is working in me both to will and do His good pleasure.  God is working this thing, this difficulty, out for my good... the very best good, according to His purposes. So... “Fear not, for I Am with you.” Awesome

WORRY ABANDONS ONE TO DESPAIR

HAVING NOTHING TO OFFER BUT ITSELF