Whatever you are worrying about God is already working on! This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our (RE)FORMATION series with a message from Jesus’ Sermon On the Mount.
Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The Apostle Paul put worry and prayer on opposite ends of the spectrum (Philippians 4:6). When you worry, it should be your trigger to pray.
1) Worry shows what I’m invested in, prayer shifts what I’m invested in.
There is no return on our worry investment. It won’t add a single hour to our lives. Prayer steadies our hearts and focuses our attention in ways that bear fruit.
2) Worry is a waste of imagination, prayer is a proper cultivation of imagination.
Worry is when our imagination is applied to the worst possible outcome in a situation, creating fear and anxiety without any benefit.
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it just empties today of its strength.
Corrie Ten Boom
Prayer trains our imagination to consider how God might work in a situation, because he already is. Jesus said our heavenly Father already knows what we need!
3) Worry is always wanting, prayer is always praising.
Worry focuses on what I lack, and the result is more worry. Prayer trains me to see God’s faithful provision already at work around me, and the result is peace.
4) Worry thinks about HOW, prayer thinks about WHO.
We can never be able to answer every question or predict every outcome. If we know that God is working on our behalf, our faith can flourish even in the absence of answers.
It is impossible to have the peace OF God until we have experienced peace WITH God, and that is only possible because of Jesus’ rescuing love!
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
