LOOKING AT WORRY WITH THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE

 

 

Worry gives way to anxiety or unease, allowing one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles. Although that is true, I've learned another way to define it. Worrying is taking over another person's problem or responsibility without being asked. It means the issue in question is beyond my ability to solve and has not been assigned to me. Insisting on solving the problem is an indication that I am impersonating the One whose responsibility that problem is; I am attempting to take over God's job. The last time I checked the want ads, only vacant positions were posted, and God's work was not on the list. Nevertheless, even if advertised, nobody on this planet is qualified.  

All posted jobs have listed requirements, training, experience, etc. Likewise, if God's position were published, the applicants would have to meet specific criteria. So, here are the qualifications. To apply for the job, the applicant must answer 'Yes' to all of the following:

Have you ever spoken anything into existence? "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Genesis 1:3 NIV).

Have you ever created any living thing? "The Lord God formed the man…and breathed into his nostrils …, and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7 NIV).                                                                                                 

Have you ever raised the dead? And he did! "Jesus called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out" (John 11:43 NIV).

Have you ever gone a month or more straight without slumber or sleep? "He who watches over you will not slumber, indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:3-4 NIV).

Can you see what is happening worldwide, simultaneously, every second of the day? "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good" (Proverbs 15:3 NIV).

Can you tell what someone is thinking, going to say, or doing before they do? "O LORD, you have searched me, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar…before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord" (Psalm 139:1-4 NIV).

Did you or anybody you know die and then come back to life without seeing decay? Here's the psalmist's prophecy about Jesus: "My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay" (Psalm 16:9-10 NIV).

Do you love unconditionally 100% of the time? "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:35-39 NIV).

Do you forgive and also forget 100% of the time? "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:34 NIV).

Can and will you take on the punishment others deserve? "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7-8 NIV).    

How many questions were you able to answer "Yes" to? You are disqualified from taking over God's job if you answered 'No' to any of the questions.

The next time you have something to worry about, ask yourself, "Am I God?" if you can honestly say 'No' to that question (and you can!), then it's time to pray and turn over the problem to the One who can solve it with ease--God. He knows where all the puzzle pieces fit and what the finished puzzle will look like. He invites all His children: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request 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). 

GOOD WORKS IS THE BREATH OF FAITH

The book of James gives us a perfect analogy for vibrant Christian living. It says, "Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works" (James 2:26 NLT). We all know what happens when people stop breathing—they die. At the end of Jesus' crucifixion, for example, He announced: "It is finished!" then He bowed His head and released the Spirit (see John 19:30). Without breath, Jesus was pronounced dead!

Our faith must be alive and active if we claim to be Christians. If not, it will be categorized as dead. How can we claim that the Spirit that gives us life lives in us while we don't exhibit the signs of life? We need to take a serious look at our claims and ensure they are not false. If faith without good works is dead, then good works are what we need to keep faith alive.

What do good works look like? Good works are actions that make a person right with God, like trust and obedience. For example, Moses fled to Midian to escape the Pharaoh of Egypt, who wanted to kill him for a murder he had committed. Although he had run for his life, he obeyed God and returned to Egypt to go and free the Israelites. He obeyed God because he trusted Him to keep him safe. What good is our faith if we can't trust and obey God?

  Obedience should then direct us to meet the needs of others, show kindness, love them (see James 2:15-16), and forgive offenses. In short, we should love others as ourselves. James uses the example of a brother or sister with a need you could meet but don't, and instead wish him or her well (see James 2:15-16).

Many claim they believe in God but don't have a personal relationship with Him. We can't expect such people to do good deeds because they don't have the Holy Spirit working in them. Those of us who are the temple of the Holy Spirit (Christians) should be able to demonstrate faith in tangible ways. James expresses it like this, "I will show you my faith by my good deeds" (James 2:18 NLT).  

God has shown my family His amazing love through the obedience of His children and unbelievers alike. My family has been the recipient of the good works of many godly people who didn't know us from Adam but took us in, in the name of love and treated us like family. The needs they met included housing, transportation, encouragement, and friendship. I pray that the Lord will be gracious to the descendants of these dear saints of God. And may He make me a blessing to others as He sees fit.

Dear brother, dear sister, is your faith dead or alive? Your works should tell you! To keep faith alive, we must demonstrate trust and obedience towards God and love and serve others in Jesus' name.

DON’T BE TOO QUICK TO JUDGE

 

We all judge situations and other people’s actions verbally or non-verbally. In fact, we feel so strongly about what we think that, often, our response is to single-handedly judge, convict, and condemn them. You might be thinking to yourself, “Not me. I don’t do that!” Yes, you do; no one is exempt from this behavior.

Even King David of Israel faced that challenge. Through Nathan, the prophet, God told him a story in which a wealthy man took advantage of a poor man. David offered his opinion about the situation without being asked; he immediately blurted out his frustration, judged the case, and pronounced a guilty verdict with the death penalty. “As surely as the Lord lives, any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and having no pity” (2 Samuel 12: 5-6).

Before the conversation with Nathan, David, who had multiple wives and concubines, had coveted a poor man’s only wife, Bathsheba, committed adultery with her and got her pregnant. He tried unsuccessfully to cover up his sin. He had the poor man killed, thereby saving face. With the husband out of the way, he married Bathsheba. He had the nerve to pronounce death on the offender. Unfortunately, we all do that; we pronounce judgment before we hear the whole story! Why did his own situation not come to mind as he listened to the story about the rich man and poor man?

On the other hand, when we do wrong, we make excuses for ourselves or cover up our actions. Why are we so forgiving of our own sins and so critical of others? We condemn them without mercy. The Scriptures tell us, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged” (Matthew 7:1-2).

Until David was confronted about his sins, he was very judgmental of another person whose offense was minor in comparison. Again, the Scriptures tell us, “If you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? … You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it” (Romans 2:21-23). 

Before we judge others, let us put ourselves in the offender’s place and ask ourselves how we would like to be treated. If we decide we don’t deserve forgiveness, grace, mercy, or a second chance, only then should we cast our stones. Jesus said to the crowd who brought the woman caught in adultery, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7).

This does not encourage condoning wrongdoing; we must speak out but not necessarily judge and condemn.

Once king David was confronted, he admitted his wrongdoing: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13), and was instantly granted forgiveness: “Yes, but the Lord has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin” (2 Samuel 12:14b).

In Psalm fifty-one, David poured out his heart, and demonstrated remorse for his sin, “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stains of my sins. … You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. … Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. … Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness” (Psalm 51:1-14).

Let’s be careful how we judge others because we could be judging and condemning ourselves! Look deep into your heart. Have you ever thought and blamed someone for wrong things in your life, or do you sin in any way? Only God has the right, knowledge, and power to judge because He is holy. 

PROVE YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!

As we all know, carrying a particular family name implies you’re their child; you don’t have to prove anything. Not so with God; if you claim to be God’s child, you must prove it. You have to pass a test.

Our way of life as children of God is the testing ground. The Holy Spirit lives in all Christians, bearing fruit in our lives and thus proving we are God’s: “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). If we claim to be Christians, these qualities should be evident in our lives.   

In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches about loving one’s enemies, contrary to what the traditional law (not the Law) says, and explains that it is proof that one is a child of God: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. … If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:44-48).

When Saul successfully led the armies of Israel against the Ammonites, some people wanted those who opposed Saul’s kingship to be killed. Saul could have agreed to that to get even with his enemies, but instead, he responded: “No one will be executed today, for the Lord has rescued Israel” (1 Samuel 11:13).    

Similarly, when it became evident that David, not Jonathan, was going to be the next king, Saul tried to kill David to ensure that it didn’t happen, and David knew it. However, on more than one occasion, David had the opportunity to kill Saul if he wanted to. Still, he didn’t and stated: “I will never harm the king—he is the Lord’s anointed one” (1 Samuel 24:10). For all that David endured at Saul’s hand, nobody would have blamed him if he had taken revenge.

In addition, don’t we expect God to forgive us when we are in the wrong? Of course, we do! If we’d like God to forgive us, we must forgive others. “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

So, let’s love others as we love ourselves to prove to the world that we are God’s children, and the love of the Father abides in us!