Is your worry list or prayer list longer? I heard this question from a preacher recently and was immediately convicted because my worry list is definitely longer. The preacher did go on to say that it is impossible to eliminate worry completely which made me feel a little better.
His overall message was that when we trust God our worry is dramatically reduced which brings us to our verse for the day which is from Philippians 4:6:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
The message from Philippians sounds so simple — instead of worrying just pray to God. But our human nature drives us to seek immediate results, so we frequently start somewhere other than God since we know that He often wants us to be patient.
Some of us turn to self-help books, others talk to friends or experts, and some turn to substances that will make us “forget” about the problem, at least for a little while. If we turn to these or other worldly outlets to solve our problems, we are saying to God that we don’t trust Him. Or maybe in some cases we’re saying that we trust Him but we need “same day delivery” instead of waiting for God to deliver the answers in His time. We are looking for the equivalent to the Amazon drone dropping off our package a couple of hours after we click “buy”.
And then there is God, sitting there shaking his head at how stubborn and impatient we are. Even so, He is always right there waiting when we wise up and seek Him first.
So if the answer is so simple, why do we make it so complicated? Here are a few questions for discussion.
Do you agree that it is impossible to eliminate worry and anxiety?
Is your prayer list or worry list longer?
As you get older, do you believe it is easier to trust God?
How can we encourage our family members and others around us to be more trusting in God?
Men's Small Group Blog 