3-4-15 Worry

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
  In all thy ways acknowledge him,
and he shall direct thy paths.                                      
                                                                                                                      roverbs 3:5-6

The biblical alternative for worry is confidence, hope and trust in God. Prayer and praise are the sequential outworking of those heart attitudes. The problem seems to be that we often know WHAT to do (trust, for example), but the greater problem comes in just HOW to accomplish the action of trust in God.

At the very foundation of our thinking, we must recognize the sovereignty of God in His absolute control of our lives. In relationship to Himself, He works in our lives so that we give Him eternal pleasure, honor and glory; in relationship to us, He works for our eternal and ultimate good. We have such a tendency to focus on our own personal wishes and independent agendas. If God makes any decisions that counter our plans, we become frustrated and frantic.

Psalm 31:15 reminds us that our times are in HIS hands. According to Romans 8:28-29, He is perpetually at work to accomplish the singular goal of conforming us to personal Christ-likeness. Therefore, our sinful self-will of resistance and resentment should be displaced by the godly response of sweet submission to the plan of God. An acrostic from the action words of Psalm 37 may help us in this endeavor:


    (trust)        T    Take the free gift of salvation    Psalm 37:3    CONVERSION

    (delight)    R    Rejoice wholly in Jesus alone    Psalm 37:4    MEDITATION

    (commit)    U    Unleash my life to the perfect    Psalm 37:5    SUBMISSION
                            plan of the Sovereign God    

    (rest)          S    Sacrificial submission to God    Psalm 37:7    APPLICATION
                                             and    
                                sacrificial service to man    

    (wait)        T    Total responsibility on God for     Psalm 37:7    CONFIDENCE
                             the results of my obedience


With a prayerful heart of praise, may we be willing today to demonstrate our implicit trust in God by personal obedience to God and practical ministry to men.

                                                (C) 1982, 2013 N. A. Collins
                             Limited copy permission for one personal file copy