He's Got It Handled

Do you ever feel afraid? Do you ever begin to feel anxious over circumstances in your life? Do you ever get trapped in the “What ifs”? When someone does or says something to hurt you, do you worry about the repercussions? Do you fear what he or she might do next?

Do you fear what someone might say to someone else about you? Do you fear rejection? Do you worry about finances, your future, your provisions, retirement, and/or the economy? Do you also fear what crazy things people in high places might do that might impact your safety and wellbeing?

Are you afraid of trials and tribulations? Do you fear persecution? Are you afraid to speak the truth in love, when necessary? Do you fear sharing your faith, because you are worried what people might do to you in return? Are you more concerned about what might happen to you than you are concerned about others’ real needs and their salvation and eternal life?

I admit I have to fight off fear on a regular basis or it will take hold of me for sure. I am continually having to surrender my life, and people in my life, and my circumstances over to God, praying for wisdom, for understanding, and asking him, too, to search my heart, and to show me what in me needs corrected; what needs changed; what needs surrendered to God.

Matthew 6:25-29 ESV

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Although the counsel here appears to be primarily focused on our basic physical needs for food, drink, and clothing, the biblical principles here apply to any areas of our lives where we might feel anxious. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, should not feel anxious about anything in our lives, for our Lord will provide for all that we need, for he values us, he loves us, and he cares.

And, which of us by worrying has ever improved our situations at all? If we are honest, we will say that worry only makes matters worse, never better.

Worry is not the same as concern, though. Concern shows caring. It is the opposite of complacency. Concern shows alertness to danger. It shows empathy to others. The Apostle Paul often expressed concern for the believers in Jesus that they not get off course, and that they not follow after another gospel, and that they not be duped by wolves in sheep’s clothing.

So, concern can be a good thing, but it can turn to worry if we don’t take it to the Lord in prayer, and if we don’t trust him with our concerns, and if we don’t seek his counsel and guidance in what to do, and if we take matters into our own hands, perhaps because God is not moving fast enough for us.

Matthew 6:30-32 ESV

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”

When we get anxious, and we allow fear to overtake us, and we begin to worry about the kinds of things talked about here in the beginning of this writing, we are doubting God’s ability to provide for us and to work in our circumstances. And, it shows that our faith in God is lacking (little), as is our faith in his love, and in his grace, and in his power to move mountains and to perform miracles.

It is like Peter, by faith, stepping out of the boat and onto the water to walk towards Jesus. As long as his eyes were fixed on Jesus, he was able to rise above his circumstances. But, as soon as he got his eyes off of Jesus, and onto the wind whirling around him, then he began to be afraid. And, when fear overtook him, then he began to sink until he reached out to Jesus to rescue him and to pull him up out of his difficulty (Matt. 14:28-33).

Matthew 6:33-34 ESV

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Our Lord knows what we need physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally. He knows our needs for love, for support and for encouragement. He knows the counsel that we need, and the discipline, and the training, and the pruning we need, too, in order to conform us to his likeness and to prepare us for what he has called us to do, as well.

He not only knows what we need, better than we know it ourselves, but he provides what we need, but not necessarily what we want, and not necessarily what we think we need, either. For, his thoughts aren’t like our thoughts, and he knows the end from the beginning, and we can only see what’s in front of our faces. So, we have to learn to trust him in all things.

So, we need to seek him, his kingdom, and his righteousness. We need to pursue our Lord and his will for our lives. We need to go after what is holy, righteous, pure, honest and moral. We need to forsake our sins and our idols, and we need to make him truly our only Lord (owner-master). And, we need to walk in obedience to his commands one day at a time.

We should not worry about tomorrow, or what is going to happen to us, or to the world, or to our nations. For, our God has it all under his control. He is completely sovereign over all that he has made. He has our lives fully in his hands. He is still God! He is still on the throne! He is still all powerful! He will never leave us or forsake us! So, we have to trust HIM with our lives!!

We are not going to get everything we think we need or that we want, though. We may get more, or we may get less, because God knows what we truly need, and he knows, too, what we can handle. And, so we should also not compare ourselves to others or feel that we were slighted while others got more than us. For, again, God knows best. And, he will provide.

So, no matter what our needs are, and no matter what difficulties we may be facing, God will provide what we need to endure, to persevere, to survive, and to do what he has called us to do. We just need to trust him one day and one situation at a time. And, when fear roars its ugly head, we need to reject it, renounce it, and we need to pray and commit it all to Jesus. And, then we need to leave it there, believing he has it handled.

Courageous!  

An Original Work / December 24, 2013  

Based off Various Scriptures

The Word of God throughout taught.

Some people heard, but did doubt.

Still others had faith in Christ.

By grace He purified them.

They turned from sin

And they obeyed Christ.

He opened up their blinded eyesight;

Turned them from darkness

To the true Light;

Forgave their sin by His might.

He strengthened them in their faith.

He said, “Remain my faithful.”

He called them to obedience.

By faith, they were so grateful.

By faith, they were to follow Jesus;

To daily sit and listen to Him;

To have such faith

That mountains could move;

To love those whom He gave them.

Be on your guard; courageous.

Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.

Take up the shield of your faith;

Protect against all evil.

Do not move from

The hope that you have.

Your faith in Jesus let it endure.

Hold to the truth;

Your conscience be clear.

Endure with perseverance.

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