The Lord reminded me of a scripture that has been with me since the first week after I accepted Him as my saviour. That was way back in August 1979. It is a part of a large portion of the words of Jesus, of which the picture verse comes from.
The reason for this being relevant to me, is that the day that I became born again, I was given a Living New Testament by an Army Scripture Reader, John Austin. The front cover has the Words, ‘The Greatest is Love,’ and the verse Matthew 6:26 printed out. Look at the birds………
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Matthew 6:26-27 NASB
You can read the whole passage Matthew 6: 25-34. I feel strongly that the Lord is saying to us that we should not be worrying, that we should be in faith instead. Trusting our God who is an awesome God. He is mighty to save, mighty to heal, and is our protection. If we would just trust him.
Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours]. Philippians 4:6-7 AMP
Some great verses of instruction. Yes, God is telling us how to live, take the worry and fear out of your mind, God will not do it! We have to make the choice to do it. Then God will be able to Flood our hearts and minds with His supernatural Peace. It has to be supernatural, because it is beyond our minds to be able to understand why we have that peace. I say again that WE have to do something before this peace will come. We have to make the decision not to be anxious or worried.
A part of that is learning how to rejoice in the Lord, no matter what! Praising God takes our focus off ourselves and things that are bothering us, and puts our focus upon God. He cares for us! He says, “come to me all; all means all: who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” As we Praise and worship Him, we are coming to Him.
Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, take pleasure in Him]; again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4,6-7 AMP
Think about it, whenever we are in praise and worship, we feel like there is some sort of release. Like nothing else matters at that time except worshipping our great and mighty God. Trouble is a lot of the time, when we come away from that place we pick our worries up again on the way out. We are supposed to lay our burdens upon Him and leave them there.
Yes they may show up again calling out, ‘Don’t forget about me?’ But you don’t need to pick them up again. God says, “Do not worry about anything!” He would not tell us to do something that we could not do. In any case if we trust God nothing will be impossible for us.
And He said to them, “Because of your meagre faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
Here is a truth, it is biblical. We cannot add a single minute to our life by worrying, but we can shorten our life by worrying. We Can lengthen our lives but putting our trust in God and walking according to His ways.
Seek First God’s Kingdom
Stand, sit, walk around, kneel, lay down, whatever way you choose to seek the Kingdom of God it does not matter. We should be seeking the Kingdom of God before all else. “Seek ye FIRST the Kingdom of God. I am reminded of the prayer that Jesus taught, Lord’s prayer. Jesus told us to command God’s Kingdom to come, and to command that His will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 NASB
God tells in and through Isaiah Concerning the work of My hands, Command you Me.
Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me. Isaiah 45:11 NKJV
That is part of seeking God first, taking authority over our thoughts and emotions, so that we can walk according to God’s purpose for our lives. If we walk according to God’s purpose for our lives, we will be bringing God’s Kingdom onto the Earth; God’s will be, being done on the Earth in our own lives.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB
What is God’s purpose for our lives? Firstly to walk by faith and not by sight. We have to use our faith. He says that without faith it is impossible to please Him. It follows then that without faith we are not seeking first the Kingdom of God, and His kingdom cannot come into our lives. Without faith His Heavenly will cannot be done on the Earth, in our lives.
When we read the whole of this portion of Scripture Matthew 6:25-35, it is easy to see that Our God is personally interested in each one of us. Not just as a Church, but as individuals. He desires a personal relationship with each one of us. He is our Father; we are His Children.
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:27
Putting God first, seeking first His Kingdom, allows Him to meet all the needs of our lives. Worrying actually hinders the flow of God’s blessing and provision. That is why God says, “Cast all your cares upon Him.”
Worrying can be a barrier to our prayers.
With that thought in mind Look at this verse again.
Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours]. Philippians 4:6-7 AMP
Be anxious for nothing, BUT. That is an important but, because it tells us that if we pray and ask, with thanksgiving; God will give us the peace that we need. Peace that is transcends all understanding. That is one part of God’s Kingdom coming into our lives here on the Earth; God’s will being done in our lives. That is something to rejoice in.
Many times, in the psalms, it calls for us to praise our God. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, enter his court with praise. Always, it is a call for us to Paise Him. It is not just a good idea of something to do. We are called upon to give praises to our God. We can choose to follow the call or not. Think about it, if we are praising God, we are seeking His Kingdom, for the Lord dwells within the praises of His people. We are His people.
And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.” Romans 15:11
Make the choice, Praise the Lord. Even if you don’t feel like it. Do it until you feel a release. Though it not about the feeling, it is about the peace that surpasses all understanding. God’s will is, for each of us to have that peace. Sometimes you have to speak to yourself; to your mind; to your soul. King David did. (I will say to my Soul!) When he did not feel like praising God. So, I will leave you With God’s word through David the man after God’s own heart!
Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget any of His benefits; Who pardons all your guilt, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with favor and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle. Psalms 103:1-5
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalms 34:1-4
Be blessed
Charlie
FREEDOM IN CHRIST 