Why do we worry, we have so many verses of promise, we have the Holy Spirit of God Himself dwelling within us, and yet we worry. When the circumstances of the present are altered, when there is a bump in our normal day-to-day routine, far too many times we become anxious.
There is a line from an old movie, the name of which escapes me, when difficulties begin to enter into the well thought out equation in the story line, the character says these words, “Chance favors the prepared mind.” In the secular sense it infers this, that he who takes the time to foresee every possible outcome, will be prepared for whatever obstacle is presented. The lost have a every right to fear, the future is completely unknown to them, they can no more set in stone their plans than they can foresee the future, but the born-again believer has both, we not only know our future, but we have the assurances in the Scriptures that at every moment of every day we are under the divine protection of Almighty God. What a blessing! And yet we still fear, we become anxious at the smallest inconvenience, we worry over the least necessary things.
“And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.” (Luke 8:25) How are we going to feed so many? (Matt. 15:33) Do you not care that we are about to drown? (Luke 8:24) Unless I put my hand in His side. (John 20:25) Disbelief is the common denominator of worry, forgetting all the times in the past when the Lord was there for you, not trusting fully that He will be there every single time in the future, these are the reasons for our anxiety, but the core answer is a lack of continuing faith in the promises.
Worrying is actually a sin, (Romans 14:23) it says to God’s face I do not trust you; it says to Christ I do not believe your promises. I am going to guess that many of you have memorized Proverbs 3:5-6, but do you apply it, do you truly trust in the Lord, continually and at all times, with all your heart, do you seek His counsels above your own, do you take His word at face value over your own, not just sometimes, but at all times, no matter the current circumstances, do you really believe that He will direct your path. He won’t, you know, if you do not do what is written in those first three lines, He will leave you to your own devices, He will let you go down every single wrong path until you finally fall to your face in repentance, begging for His mercy for your selfishness, your lack of obedience and trust.
Our Lord does not expect to have to carry us everywhere, as it were, yes, we can do nothing without Him, (John 15:5) but He expects obedience, and those who are obedient He blesses, those who are not, He does not bless, they will receive the bread of affliction and the water of strife, they will not know what it means to be profitable. All because of worry, the sin of saying “I do not fully trust you; you are going to have to prove yourself over and over again, in every separate instance. “For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” (James 1:7)
Worrying, anxiousness, doubt, all these lead to fear, and the majority of that fear is always of a personal nature, loss of this, not having that any longer, all say “I do not trust you.” If you are still one of these individuals, how do you reconcile Romans 8:28 to yourself, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” How can you trust in the words of the Lord when He says, “And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8) How can one worry and doubt, how can one commit such a great sin when He has been promised “That where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3)
You may think of some as “super-saints,” when all they really are is men of faith, men and women who believe that His promises are true, that He who said these words can be trusted. If you can use your minds eye and see yourself standing in front of Christ, do so now, and then as you look into the eyes of the One who saved you from the wrath of God, who took the punishment for you, who loved you enough to call you one of His own, say these words to Him. “What was I ever worried about.” Perfect love my friends, His perfect love, casts out all fear.
