“Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6, CSB)
Will the stock market crash or soar? Will there be another terrorist attack on American soil? Will there be another natural disaster? Life can be full of worry. Will I do well on my finals and get into that great college? Will that special person reject me? Will I ever get married? Will we have kids? Will someone I love die this year? Wow! There is a lot of uncertainty in our lives.
Satan loves to distract us from what God is doing by getting us to worry about things in the hopes that our worrying will somehow help change the future. Not a moment of worrying will change anything in the future, but it will help to expose a potential flaw in our Christian character that we can work on in 2019. When I am worrying, I am forgetting that God is in control. When I am worrying, I am denying something I say I believe, that if I trust God he will work everything out for my good. (“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28, CSB)
This doesn’t mean that we are “concern free.” It means that we should have a healthy concern over things in our lives, but we will trust God to help us take care of those things. “…in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving…” God wants us to be concerned, because in our concern we will turn to Him for conversation and help. God already knows our concerns, but He wants us to talk with Him about them. Let 2019 be the year that you become “worry free” and walk in the freedom of trusting Him. Pray through all the troubles and trials we know we will face so that we may have His peace. Jesus tells us “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”” (John 16:33, CSB)
God bless and Happy New Year!
robbielgibson 