Something More

Ah worry.  It is something we all deal with.  Some folks even boast about their ability to worry like it makes others think they care more.  Or what about worry martyrs?  They wear worry on their sleeve like a badge of honor.  Some even treat their worry like one of their own children.  I tend to fall somewhere in between all of these titles.  One thing I am getting better about is telling God when I'm worried.  I figure He knows anyway so why hide it.  I also have recognized that worry is disobedience to the Father.  I am not pointing a finger at you because I tell myself the same thing.  It isn't healthy and it isn't Biblical.  I get very annoyed when someone says, "oh don't worry..."  It's like I am going to say, "oh okay, just because you said that I won't be...thanks."  I have found that worry isn't something I automatically switch off and on and it can be a kind of addiction.  So let me share with you some things God gave me yesterday on the topic while I did my study.  Actually, I completed my Bible study at the pool while Eli swam around.  He was the only kid there so the two lifeguards had his full attention.  They loved him...threw him in the water, tried to teach him Spanish, and goofed around with him.  Anyway, I digress...

Matthew 6:25-27)  "Therefore I tell you, 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?"

I have read this verse like a hundred times over the course of my life.  The Word of God is alive and active so each time I read it I am given something new.  Let me clear one thing up before we dig in.  These definitions will come in handy as we complete this study.  Our spirit is where God lives.  It is home to the Holy Spirit if we are believers and followers of Jesus Christ.  Our soul is our mind, will, and emotions.  The soul tell us what we think, what we want, and how we feel.

Allowing Satan to overtake our minds with thought of worry, dread, doubt, and concern is an act of my will.  I allow thoughts in and decide what I will do with them.  Right now is a very hard time for me.  It is one the most difficult times in my life.  I am SO grateful for a supportive husband, loving family, and Godly friends.  I literally feel like there is an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other in regards to my thought life and attitude in how I deal with my challenges.  Basing my decisions and what God will or won't do based on my emotions is acting fleshly.  Romans 8:8 says living a life of the flesh does not please God.  I may be a slow learner, but one thing that I have learned is that I truly want to please God.  The verse below is very direct...not much room for personal interpretation there!

Romans 8:8)  Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

Living according to my flesh is a very superficial way of living.  God is doing so much more than I can fathom on a far deeper level, a Spirit level.  When I live on this level I will have peace regardless of my circumstances.  To be honest, I am yet to reach this level.  I certainly can grow in this, but will never reach perfection this side of heaven.  One thing I am sure of is that I am much farther along than I was even yesterday.  Joyce Meyer says often I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I was.  I love that!  As I live faith to faith I get better and better at realizing what I feel is not always based on God's fact.

If I can't trust my human emotions what can I trust?  Or whom can I trust?  The Spirit.  I firmly believe I miss a great deal of His promptings because my soul is so stirred up.  I often feel like I live out in the wilderness struggling to hear God.  I believe it is because of the static in my soul.  Satan lies and says God doesn't care therefore I need to worry.  Someone has to worry about this I tell myself!  God's doing nothing I say!  I see worry, dread, doubt, etc. as static in my soul.  The noise drowns out the Spirit's messages for me.

There are much greater things than me getting what I want.  Like I said before, I currently am going through some really hard things with my health and I really want to be well yet I know there are greater things for me other than worrying over never getting better.  The time I spend worrying can be spent thanking Him for what I do have and for talking to Him about how I can use my experiences for good and to further His Kingdom.  Is is possible to resist the lies of the devil.  It takes a lot of effort on my part because I have to stand guard.  I have to memorize Scripture and say it even when I don't FEEL like it's true.  I must vocalize His Word so the I can hear the Truth.  I have to stop and talk to God and shut off the world to listen to Him. 

I am determined, with God's help, to overcome worry and dread.  I will not give in nor will I allow Satan to determine my steps.  I am not a quitter.  I do not want to live by my flesh because I truly want to please God.  I want Him to look upon me with smile.  Genesis 50:20 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.  It assures me that what Satan meant for harm God turned for good.  I don't feel it now, but I choose to see the good.  So when that devil on one shoulder is noisy I will continue to do the next thing to the glory of God.  I claim Galatians 6:9!

Galatians 6:9)  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.