When we are worried.

When I am worried, often times I find that, I--myself alone, tend to try to shift things to go my way. I will admit that if there was a way of getting something to work out the way I wanted it to that I would find it. Now that it has been a little over a year and four months since I was reborn I am starting to realize, now more so than ever, that I can't do it on my own. I can't truly "live" on my own. I can't worry on my own either. When I worry, I jump to conclusions. I start to navigate on my own to end my own worry. I just plain am not myself. The bible says clearly: do not worry. In Philippians 4:6, we are commanded, “Do not be anxious [do not worry] about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

 How often do you present your request to God? 

How often is it that we give our request to him and let him show us the correct path to take ? 

With all things good, I should not worry! For my God is my salvation, even if everything is taken away from me. Today Pastor Scott Newman preached on Philippians 1:20-24. This was an excellent sermon. If you didn't get a chance to hear it, below at the end of this blog I will provide a link to listen to it online. Just absolutely excellent!! What really struck me out of this sermon was when he talked about how Paul, after everything had been taken away from him, he focused on his joy in God. Paul was tough! If it had been me in his shoes I don't think I would have made it. His life was planting churches and after all of that when he got imprisoned he rejoiced in the lord. Me--I would have worried about what was coming next. I would have worried that my life was ruined. He preached "Following Jesus through obstacles"-- one of my obstacles is worry. I worry to much for my own good. When I worry I try to remember that God made the plans, and God is the one who gave me life. He GAVE me life. It is not my place to try and make it my own. I will obey they lord, because I love him, I need him. He has no intentions of leading me in the wrong direction. He has plans for good and not disaster, to give me a future [but in his time, and will--not mine] and a hope. A hope that is eternal. He is there by my side every day step by step, and I am not just a face in the crowd to him--I am his child, whom his will protect. Lord I pray that when I am faced with worry, like I have been, that you will show me the path to take when I come to you with my worries. I pray that you will show us that when we are worried that you will taken the burden off our shoulders and place atop yours, and that if we seek out your will whole heartedly that you will show us the best and most right path to take in your time. Amen.

Pastor Scott Newman's Sermon -- click on the one for August 1, 2010