Extra Years?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew6:27NIV

Short, sharp, and to the point. You don’t usually get medical advice like that, because it takes a lot longer for our ‘learned academia’ to go round the houses before they come to the point. But here it is in the Bible, and has been there for centuries. When you continually worry your life suffers! Take a deep breath and let that sink in.

It is important to understand the difference between worry and concern, or being anxious and it is this. Worry is usually a long term thing, and ‘worrier’ is the word used to describe someone who almost naturally worries before they know all the facts. Worry is in the core of their being. Most, if not all, of us have been concerned or anxious about a certain situation or person, but it doesn’t take over our life. The concern passes.

Jesus is making a statement we need to hear, especially if we are a ‘worrier’ by nature. It doesn’t have to be like this when we can leave it with Jesus to deal with. In fact the bigger problem needing God’s attention isn’t the thing or person making us worry, it’s our own heart which can’t seem to let go and let God do His work. The concerned and anxious person’s feelings will pass when the issue or situation passes, and we let Jesus take the strain (literally), so don’t feel guilty about that, however I would encourage you to get heavenly help for your worry!

Anxiety, Prayer, Peace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7 NIV

This verse came up in my personal devotions recently. It’s a well known couple of verses which are preached on and quoted often. But for the first time in many years I noticed there is something missing, and once you notice the omission, you can’t help but wonder how it had passed you by before now because it’s so obvious.

The core message is prayer, and its importance in our Christian life and faith when we are worried, concerned, or anxious. It is good to come before His throne and just thank Him for all the goodness He showers us with every day. But sometimes, the cares and worries of this life overtake us and we are overwhelmed by our feelings. Our head knows full well that God is faithful, but our heart still needs assurance. So we pray and lay our human feelings before Him openly and honestly.

Then what? That’s where the advice stops, and that’s when it hit me. There is no mention of an answer from God. No promise that everything will work out the way we want. No time frame given for how long this cloud hanging over you will last.

The lesson I take from this, and my apologies if I am coming late to this truth, is that our peace of mind is directly linked to our sincere prayer, and NOT to the answer which God will give in His own time. Let’s face it, oftentimes we already know what we want God to do to fix our worry, and knowing this, and in His infinite wisdom, He makes the important action our prayer and not the answer. Oh yes, we serve a wise God.

Troubled

And that same Christ gave these gifts to people: He made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to care for and teach God’s people. Christ gave these gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving, to make the body of Christ stronger. Ephesians 4:11,12

There are times in our normally content and well ordered lives that something will trouble us. It will seem small to others, but for the troubled person, it can be a big thing that may keep you awake at night, and affect your daily living. Some Christians have been on the way for many years, and some for relatively few, but I would suggest every one of us would want to be the best Christian example possible.

There are different groups of people in the verses above, and I am not sure where I would fit in. I am certainly not an apostle or prophet, but maybe I can care for some people just enough that they might learn the reason for my faith. Does that make me a teacher of sorts? It’s a heavy responsibility and not one I would want to shirk, or shrink from. But how do I do this? How do I avoid becoming a false teacher, and the risks that brings?

I am blessed to live in a nation where just about everyone knows the very basics of Christian life and living. Not that they all profess to be faithful to the message, but mostly, they know. Look at it this way, if you do something that falls short of the standard, the unchurched will be able to say the words we don’t ever want to hear, “I didn’t think a Christian did that”. My point is this. We don’t always have to convince our family or friends what it means to be a Christian. Chances are they already know. All that’s left to ask is, how to be the best witness and example, so that Christ is clearly seen? The writer to the Hebrews sums it up nicely when he reminds us that there are people watching us, and we have a responsibility to be an example. Read the following verse as if the ones we want to reach are the onlookers watching us run the race of life. We are their examples, and the bar is set high. I trust I am up to the challenge because I don’t want my life to be a stumbling block to any (young) person who is seeking for the truth of eternal life. None of us want to see the unintended sad eternal consequence of a misguided example. False teachers are not limited to the unreachable televangelists or internet preachers who so easily lead us astray. No, the sobering thought is that we, you and I, can also be false teachers, so let us be “wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16

We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. Hebrews 12:1