Do Not Worry

   We are entering the eighth month of this year – the number 8 is the number of new beginnings – my favorite number. What if we made a new beginning this month of deciding not to worry? Oh, believe me, all of us have plenty of opportunity and various things to worry about. However, these are the words of Jesus…do not worry. (Matthew 6:25-34 TPT)
   Several times in this excerpt from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He tells us not to worry.  I’m sure in His day, as in ours, worry was a tangible part of society. Worry is a constant threat to our peace and to the solidity of our faith. We are constantly given opportunity to embrace worry and /or fear in the face of our circumstances. I recently heard this definition of worry: “worry is creating a future where God doesn’t come through…” or how about this one: “worrying is the intercession of fear…!”
  I think we need to accept the shock value of those statements and realize that worry is so detrimental to us, to our mental health, and to our faith and spiritual health! I believe this is why Jesus spent a good part of His sermon on it. Worry takes our minds away from the promises of God and meditates on the problems we are facing.
   It’s not enough to know we shouldn’t worry; we must see beyond the prohibiting to the provision and replacement. If we look carefully at this passage, especially in verse 26: “Are you not of much more value than they?” Many of us have a long history of being champion worriers because we don’t understand how much God loves us and how much He values us. Doesn’t the Father’s value of us bring reassurance of His care and provision? We are surrounded by beautiful examples of nature every day that are completely “handled” by the goodness of God! Every sunrise…every beautiful display nature…every miracle we have experienced…every breath we are privileged to take, shouts the goodness and providence of God!
   Once we begin to understand our value to Him, which He profusely demonstrated at the cross, we can rest in His coming provision for today. (John 3:16-17 The Message Bible)
    One of the most powerful demonstrations of God’s love was the provision of the substitutionary death of His Son. (Romans 8:31-33 TPT)
   This is the kind of love that is difficult to fathom or measure. But please notice…God did not just talk about His love; He demonstrated it. God doesn’t just love in words – He loves with action! How could God love us this much? The greater question is: How could God demonstrate love like this and ever fail to take care of every other smaller detail of our lives? (Matthew 10:29-31 TPT)
   Again, we see the directive: Don’t worry! Let’s not dismiss the context of this instruction…you have so much value – God will not miss a detail. We can all agree that worrying is draining and counter-productive. There is a great difference between knowing something and beginning to function in it. For us to make a change in this habitual detriment we must follow what Jesus says: “Forsake your worries…refuse to worry!” (Matthew 6:31a, 34a TPT)
   Let’s make a conscious effort of “forsaking and refusing” and begin a new habit of turning our default of worrying into a remembering of how much God values us! Recall how we can truly trust Him to faithfully come through! As we practice this, we will see our faith soar and our confidence accelerate! 
     We are believing with you for tremendous provision and breakthrough in this month!!! (Matthew 6:34 TPT)