Do Not Be Anxious!

(Matthew 6:31) “Therefore do not be anxious...”

With any mammoth task the initial thought can be overwhelming, but when small pieces are tackled at a time, before you know it the task is accomplished. I recall seeing a documentary of two mountain climbers as they had partnered up and were reliant upon one another to conquer some very tricky conditions. There was lots of snow and they were moving at a rapid pace, they had already conquered the summit and were on their way down. There is a big warning for us who in principle must take heed when we become arrogant and proud within ourselves, even if it remains a thought and we do not voice our miss-guided confidence. We must take heed; “Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1Corinthians 10:12)

I am acutely aware of this truth this morning and it would seem that God the Holy Spirit is pressing home His point. When I am hard-pressed and God makes a point it would be good for us to reflect on the highlighted indicator and then examine ourselves with the Word of God as our yardstick and not with opinions.

They were a little careless, they may have thought we have done this many times and nothing has befallen us before, they still had all their safety ropes in place and then it happened without warning, the ledge gave way, there had been an icy build up on one of the mountain ledges, the over-hang gave way as one of the climbers now dangled helplessly in midair attached to his buddy. After what seemed an eternity, every effort made to get him to safety was in vain. The exhausted man who was anchoring his friend was left with no choice but to cut the rope which was securing the man from a treacherous fall. I say he had no choice if he wanted to stay alive; they would have both fallen to their death! So he cut his friend loose! Leaving his friend for dead, he made his way down the mountain alone, which in itself was a monstrous task, but he eventually made it to base camp. However the now injured man was not dead but fighting for his life, he had broken a femur and could only crawl, but the pain he now faced was excruciating. This is his story; although he was miles from base camp and the terrain was rocky and it was hard enough to cross as a healthy man on foot, he began to focus on the rock in front of him as he set goals in his mind, one rock at a time was his motivation. Each time he reached his rock he felt as if he had achieved victory, until eventually he made it to base camp and was then rescued and airlifted to safety. He survived this ordeal! But as I listened to his interview, there was a hint of pride to his tone. There is much we can learn from this account! Firstly let us look at what principles we can draw from his misfortune and then how we can apply ourselves to the application of those principals using the Word of God as our guide.

If he had considered his objective and the distance he had to cover to make it to base camp where he knew there would be help on hand, in its totality, he would have been defeated before he even started. But because he bit off chunks at a time it was now a reality to him as he thought it may just be possible. What he did was relied on his own ability, and eventually made it to safety. That is not what God expects from His children, we must learn to lean on Him! Faith operates in a different realm to the natural! This is the lesson that faith teaches, we must rely on God's ability and not our own!

Let us look at our lives and our objective; we all hope to make it to heaven as that will be our final destination. But when we look around us and see all the rocks and the taunting obstacles in our paths it seem impossible at times. But if we were to draw guidance from the Word of God and we take heed to the instruction of our Master, the Lord Jesus, it not only becomes a reality, but the burden then becomes light. What instruction does he give us? “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:31-34)

Therefore in application wherever we find ourselves without exception, we must live one day at a time looking to Jesus for all our sustenance. If we become careless and overlook this truth, we could find ourselves dangling from a rope, and we will eventually be cut loose. Never to the extent of no return, but possibly with serve consequences and the many scars will we carry, sheepishly and to our own shame. It is not necessary! We must not embrace worldly wisdom and all their psycho-babble, all that will do is leave us with a hint of pride and we know what that will mean; “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Regardless of the mountains in your life, we (sons of God) have a hope that will eventually arrive, it took the Israelites forty years to cross the wilderness but they eventually arrived in the Promised Land. It will be no different for us, we too will arrive in our Promised Land, and heaven will eventually be our home for all eternity. May that thought captivate our hearts to lose our lives and rely solely upon the grace and mercy of our Father and may we depend on Him with totality trusting Him to get us home. Let us not reason with worldly wisdom, but let us put on the mind of Christ. Let David remind us; “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” (Psalms 25:14)

I will leave you with this truth; “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2Peter 3:9)

“There are many ways of promoting Christian wakefulness. Among the rest, let me strongly advise Christians to converse together concerning the ways of the Lord. Christian and Hopeful, as they journeyed towards the Celestial City, said to themselves, “To prevent drowsiness in this place, let us fall into good discourse.” Christian enquired, “Brother, where shall we begin?” And Hopeful answered, “Where God began with us.” Then Christian sang this song-“

“When saints do sleepy grow, let them come hither,

“And hear how these two pilgrims talk together;

Yea, let them learn of them, in any wise,

Thus to keep open their drowsy slumb’ring eyes.

Saints’ fellowship, if it be managed well,

Keeps them awake, and that in spite of hell.”

“Christians who isolate themselves and walk alone, are very liable to grow drowsy. Hold Christian company, and you will be kept wakeful by it, and refreshed and encouraged to make quicker progress in the road to heaven. But as you thus take “sweet counsel” with others in the ways of God, take care that the theme of your converse is the Lord Jesus. Let the eye of faith be constantly looking unto him; let your heart be full of him; let your lips speak of his worth. Friend, live near to the cross, and thou wilt not sleep. Labour to impress thyself with a deep sense of the value of the place to which thou art going. If thou rememberest that thou art going to heaven, thou wilt not sleep on the road. If thou thinkest that hell is behind thee, and the devil pursuing thee, thou wilt not loiter. Would the manslayer sleep with the avenger of blood behind him, and the city of refuge before him? Christian, wilt thou sleep whilst the pearly gates are open-the songs of angels waiting for thee to join them-a crown of gold ready for thy brow? Ah! no; in holy fellowship continue to watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation” C.H.Spurgeon

Signing off

Tyrone