What Jesus said about worry - Greg Laurie -
http://www.wnd.com/2015/11/what-jesus-said-about-worry/
Pastor Greg Laurie shows how believers can overcome fear and anxiety
When I was in Australia a number of years ago, I noticed they had an expression there that I really like: "No worries, mate."
We worry about what we are going to eat. We worry about what we are going to wear. We worry about where we are going to live. We worry about our employment. We worry about our family. We worry about almost everything. We worry when things are going good because we are concerned when they will go bad. Then, when they go bad, we worry about whether they ever will be good again.
As Charlie Brown said, "I've developed a new philosophy ... I only dread one day at a time." Then there was Alfred E. Neuman from the cover of MAD magazine, whose slogan was, "Me worry."
We do have a lot of worries, don't we? A lot of things concern us and cause us anxiety.
But the problem with worry, as Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom said, is that it "does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength."
In fact, the word worry is derived from an old English word that means "to choke." That is what worry does to us. It chokes us. It cuts us off.
So how do we overcome fear and worry? The Bible has something to say about this, and Christ himself addressed the topic of worry in the Sermon on the Mount:
"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" (Matthew 6:25-27 NIV).
Jesus is not saying that we shouldn't be concerned about the necessities of life, think about them or plan for the future. The Bible encourages us to work hard, to save our money and so forth. What Jesus was saying is that we should not worry about these things.
The Bible tells the story of a man named Daniel who could have worried but didn't. His enemies hatched a plot to have him killed because they wanted him out of the way. They were jealous of his power and influence with the king. So the king unwittingly signed into law a decree that no man could pray to any god but the king. Because Daniel was a man of prayer, he ended up in a den of lions.
What is fascinating about this story is the king himself could not reverse the law he had ignorantly set into place. That king spent the night worrying, and Daniel spent the night sleeping like a baby among the lions.
That is how it is when you are walking with God. You can relax and rest in Him. The Bible even says God "gives His beloved sleep" (Psalm 127:2 NKJV).
The Bible also tells us that we should "cast all [our] anxiety on him because he cares for [us]" (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).The idea of casting is throwing something. It's taking our worries and throwing them on God.
I like what Martin Luther said: "Pray, and let God worry." That is really the secret. Turn your worries into prayers. The next time you are gripped by fear and worry, turn it into prayer. Look to God and let Him give you his peace.
So instead of worrying, put God and His will first in your life. There are many things we can seek to live for in life. We can live for a successful career. We can live for pleasure. We can live for a lot of things. Jesus was saying that among the number of options to live for, put God in the number one position. If you want a life free of worry and anxiety and fear, then put God's kingdom before everything else. Seek it first.
Someone may say, "Well, what does that mean? It's easy for you to seek God first. My job is different than yours, and I work in the real world with real people."
I understand that. But our goal should be to honor God in everything we do. (And if you can't honor God in what you do, then get a new job.) If your goal is to make money, no matter what it takes, then you have the wrong goal. Your goal should be to honor God, give honest work and have personal integrity and a good reputation in the workplace.
Yes, there are people in life who cut corners. There are people in life who cheat on the test and pass the exam when you had to study harder. There are people in life who lie on their résumés and get the positions you were hoping to get. There are people in life who flatter the boss and move up the ladder a little more quickly than you do.
But I will also say - and this is based on Scripture - that if you live a godly life, have integrity and work hard, God will bless you for it. Sure, there will be times when others seem to be doing better than you. But just wait awhile and see how it plays out.
Jesus said, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33 NKJV). What "things" was Jesus talking about? He was referring to what you will eat, what you will wear and other necessities of life. When you seek God and His kingdom first, life will find its proper perspective.
Worry doesn't make our lives longer; it just makes them more miserable. You could write on our tombstones "hurried, worried, buried." We spend our lives running after a dream we never even realized. We are the only nation in the world with a mountain called Rushmore. That is why we are so agitated and stressed out.
Instead of channeling your energies into worry and chasing after nothing, seek God first. Put him first. Then watch how he will change your circumstances.
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