Me? Worry?

Worry ~ watch out, it will get you. The Bible is very clear that worry is not a pastime Christians are allowed to indulge in and yet it seems to creep up on us. We are lulled into believing that worry is an unavoidable hazard of living on earth. Since it is "unavoidable" we tend to expect it and accept it as it comes. Oh, sure, many of us struggle with worry but not against worry. We struggle to live with it instead of resisting it. Beware, the fall from worry to fear is short and certain.

Confession ~ At this point, I must confess that I have found the battle against worry to be difficult to chart, let alone win. I have been a captive to worry far too much of the time for one who is in the Lord's army. I speak not from the position of heart-rushing victory but from a place of repeated defeat. I have been defeated so many times, that I thought perhaps I had lost whatever fight was in me. In that dejected place, I was met with the gentle urging of the Lord to take a different approach - to get off the defense and take the offense. So, I began to prayerfully study the Biblical battle-plan and adhere to the Captain's strategy. I freely admit that I am a weak, often fearful soldier who cannot secure victory against this giant. However, I am also a hopeful, delighted saint because God uses the weak to express His glory in this fallen world and my victory has already been attained in the work of Christ, all I need do is learn to walk in it. In studying and sorting through the application of truth, I have found comfort entering into the Lord's rest and strength relying on His word. Perhaps some aspect of my journey would encourage another and so I share the following.

Worry ~ It begins small and grows to gargantuan heights in a very short amount of time. It goes from a passing thought to an obsession; from a moment of concern to hours of lost sleep; from a stray thought to out-right fear in a matter of days or even hours. It slips into our minds as a muggy breeze that quickly turns into a tornado tearing through our grip on the truth and throwing our thoughts into an ever swirling turmoil.

Worry ~ Worry is the enemy infiltrating our camp. What do you do with an enemy? You take it captive and turn it over to a higher ranking officer. It is our clearly defined responsible to take every thought captive to Christ - take each thought and force it to come under the authority of Christ submitting it to the truth of God's word. Prisoners of war don't run the camp! When the truth is the measure of our responses to life, worry looses the battle. It is not enough to know the truth, one must believe it without any shadow of doubt.

The Battle ~ This is serious, worry is believing the lie of Satan instead of the truth of God. The battle takes place in our minds and is fought best on our knees. When we worry, aren't we, in essence, asking, "Will God come through?" In that, we are inferring that God's word just may not be true. Clinging to God's faithfulness and sovereignty and unfailing character is how one begins to eradicate worry from their camp. The enemy's attack will not cease and so we must be ever diligent, always keeping watch, clinging continually.

Victory ~ Our victory comes when we abide in God's truth, day-by-day, moment-by-moment. It is not enough to know the truth, we must learn to live as if every promise of God, every word of the Scriptures is true. So vividly true that our lives are constantly affected by our ongoing interaction with the truth. God's truth must become a greater reality to us than the circumstances of the world in which we live. The victory is already ours in Christ, our journey is learning to walk in the victory.

Authors ~ The mode of operation gives the author away ~

Worry ~ kills our joy; steals our peace and methodically destroys our relationship with God. It follows that Satan, the one who kills, steals and destroys is the author of worry. Definitely an author not worth endorsing.

Faith ~ brings joy; builds peace and maintains our relationship with God. Faith is also reflective of it's author. How precious is Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. How sweet it is to walk in the light of God's truth.

So, the next time someone causally remarks,
"Oh, don't worry about it."

Take it to heart;
draw the line in the sand;
and take the enemy captive.