Anxiety

(Philippians 4:6) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

There are times in our lives that we who have the Spirit of God know exactly what it is we should be doing but somehow find the resolve within not aligning with the will of God for our lives, this is a place of absolute frustration. I believe we are all the same to some degree when it comes to our struggles within. However, it is impossible to speak on behalf of another without at least having travelled in their shoes for a time. This is why we have a high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who has done exactly that. He has been tempted with the enticements of all who have ever lived and yet without sin. That is an impossible truth to digest, it remains foreign to our natural understanding, and it must be digested through the eyes of the Spirit and faith. A miraculous feat achieved in a natural body.

Anxiety is a real enemy that constantly is fed by our defeat, or at least our perceived defeats. This is why we have to constantly commune in prayer, with thanksgiving, through the finished worked of the cross and in the name of Jesus as we plead our case with our heavenly Father. It’s our means of trimming our sails and just like the sailor navigates the dangers of the sea, we too need to check our bearings and then trim our sails accordingly. But all of our reasoning must be rooted on the correct foundation, our beloved Saviours achievements and not our failures, which when analysed correctly are many. And yet we cannot brush them aside as if they should have no bearing on our lives. That would be like having the spinnaker out when trying to tack.  They are there to remind us how reliant we are upon our husband, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the pressures of life begin to mount, remember this, we have been called to work it out, that by testing we must get on with. It’s about the will of God in our little worlds. What is it I need to do, in order trim my sail and to bring glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Now before we run off at a tangent, and make the error of the Galatian church; “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3) – This seems to be our default switch that we constantly engage when we realise that we have fallen short of the glory of God. It’s the way we are naturally programmed. But it has to change, we must learn to walk in the Spirit. We know that we will never lose our way when the sails of the Spirit is aligned correctly, in fact, did you know it is impossible to lose our approach when we are walking in the Spirit; “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16) - The only time we choke, is when we allow the reigns of our flesh (the carnal way of thinking) to once again captain the ship, calling out his orders that only ever brings confusion. It’s his voice that we must learn to silence. Now that is a task for each individual. And it’s up to the particular person to work it.

Here are some aids that will help us trim our sails when we lose direction. Our struggles happen on a daily basis and we need to remember that we walk one day at a time. Anything more than this could become too difficult to endure.

·       “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34)

·       And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

·       Matthew chapter 6 read the whole chapter and focus in on the Lord’s Prayer – spend some time here…

The purpose behind us working it out, hinges on this truth and if we miss it we will always be grappling with misdirection. God has instigated a perfect plan and it’s up to us to derive a place of understanding our roles in His masterpiece. Our journeys are about accepting and then finding grace to implement our part correctly, playing that perfect role He envisaged before the foundation of the world. Pay careful attention to this verse; “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Let’s make this personal as we break this down; through salvation, our born again experience and baptisms both into water and the Holy Spirit, sets us up to achieve the objective, “that we should walk in them”. Walk in what? The good works that God prepared beforehand. We must eventually come to a place of understand our roles in “HIS PRODUCTION”, we have a specific role, but without being swallowed by the magnitude of that thought, know this, all we need to really work out is to make every decision possible with the intent of bringing God glory and the rest will fall into place. Our lives are filled with tests, to see where we stand on the matters of life, and we need to learn to test our own action and how they play their part in God’s masterpiece. Hollywood has Oscars, God has eternal glory waiting for the faithful.

Let me leave you with this though, if some of what I have shared is missed. There is one overarching truth that we daren’t miss, and it is this. In order to achieve our objective, we must develop our relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. He has overcome and He will see us home. He is the Alpha and the Omega. If we find ourselves facing any dilemma, run to Jesus. If He has allowed us to snuggle into His chest, move even closer and finally when the cares of this life look to swallow us up, remember we have a brother that is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, HE UNDERSTANDS!

To God be the glory now and forever more, Amen and Amen!

Signing off

Tyrone