No Worries
There are several scriptures in the Bible which tell us not to worry or be anxious. You might balk at hearing this but God doesn't want us to worry or be anxious about anything. I know life is filled with a many concerns but still the Lord tells us not to worry about our problems. We all recognize there are health issues, financial situations, job issues, relational matters, and even small things like being late to work which can cause worry. Every day is filled with many stressors. God has this to say about worry and stress.
"Be careful for nothing (Be anxious for nothing); but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6).
This is a surprising scripture. Who cannot worry? How can anyone do this? Let's face it, if we don't worry we might think we are being down-right irresponsible. Heh, we worry because outcomes matter to us; sometimes consequences can be dire if things don't work out. Even though our circumstances may be heading for a tragic conclusion, God still commands to not worry.
We are to give our worries to the Lord. It is one of the most important concepts we can learn as a Christian. God does not want us to carry the burden of worries and cares. He wants us to give them all to Him to handle. As a mighty God Who loves us, He is capable and resolute to resolve every problem. In fact, God did not create us to endure worries. They bring detrimental health affects causing negative consequences. We are God's children; He is a good Father. God wants to take care of our concerns as any loving father would.
Giving Our Worries to God
So how can we give our concerns or worries to the Lord? Philippians 4:6 answers the question;
"... but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God...." How do we do this? First, as the beginning portion of this scripture indicates, we bring our request in prayer to God to resolve.
We can pray something like this.
Father, I am worried about passing a test, my child, my rent money, losing my job, this illness (whatever the worry may be) and I see in your Word that we are not to worry but to give our cares to you and be anxious for nothing. So Lord, I am giving this care about passing a test, my child, my rent money, losing my job, this illness (whatever the worry may be) onto You. I don't have it anymore. I am giving it to You to handle. I am not going to worry about it anymore because I have put it in Your hands to resolve. I know You are a good, loving Father. You hear my prayers and you will take care of this issue for me in a glorious way. If there is anything I need to do, let me know and I will do it; but I leave the crisis with You to take care of for me. In the Name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
The second portion tells us to give thanksgiving. Since we know God is now handling our situation to bring victory, we can choose to thank the Lord now before we even see a result. This is an effective way to prevent our minds from worrying, instead we praise Him for the answer.
If we have truly given the problem to the Lord, we will walk in peace about the situation. Philippians 4:7 says, "And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Peace is an indication we have given the problem to God. It's a matter of praying, turning the situation over to God and remaining peaceful while waiting for God to answer. If we are still agitated and upset, we have not truly turned our care over to God despite praying. When we lose our peace, it is an indication we have taken the problem back from the Lord. God can't work on it because He doesn't have it anymore---we do!
One way to stay in peace is to override thoughts which bring worry. Worry occurs when we think about "what if" questions. Examples of "what if" questions are things like, "What if my spouse doesn't get better?" "What if I lose my job?" "What if the money doesn't come in?" "What if I never get married?" "What if I am not chosen?" In essence we are thinking about the problem again and have taken it back from the Lord.
Worry Prevents Faith
Pondering the problem is the opposite of faith. We doubt God can help so we worry. Faith is believing God is working out the situation even though solutions many not be evident or immediate. It may appear nothing is happening or things are getting worse. It can be challenging keeping these "what if" thoughts out of our mind. Peter says in 1 Peter 5:6-9.
"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced in your brotherhood in the world."
To cast all our cares on the Lord means to commit them to His care. It is an act of humility. Humility is the recognition of our dependence upon God. In effect we are saying to God, "I can't handle this situation so I am giving it completely to You." The opposite is pride which says, "I can handle this problem myself, I don't need God."
There's no safer place than to put oneself under the powerful hand of God. Humility is not a loss but a gain. It is a sign we are in faith because we have released our issue for God to fix. It is an indication of our trust in Him. God moves when we have faith in Him. Faith is how we receive from God.
Peter warns us about our enemy, the devil. Our enemy is out to devour us and rob us of our faith. Unbelief occurs when our faith wanes resulting in the loss of our answer. It happens when, the child is not recovering, the financial picture is not changing, the spouse is not interested in receiving salvation, we do not get the promotion. Satan wins when our minds worry about those things we committed to the Lord to resolve. He comes against us by bringing back to our minds the worries we already gave to the Lord. He pressures us to take our worries back so God cannot work on our situation. Satan is a thief wanting to steal our peace of mind and our faith. We must stay alert to the enemy's tactic. Monitoring our thoughts and deciding not to worry is how we dispel our cares and worries.
Casting the Care
Casting our cares on the Lord means we don't have them anymore. The problem is no longer ours to ponder. I learned a long time ago from a great minister how to keep my mind free from worry. He said, "You no longer touch the matter in your thought life." Why? Because you don't have the problem, God does.
This ability to not touch the thought takes practice. It's a matter of monitoring our thoughts for worries and turning them aside. We literally keep our minds clear of any thoughts that are doubt-filled. If we do so mindfully we will no longer be plagued by anxiety, fear, and obsession over the problem. Peace ensues setting us free to go about our daily business without our cares, because we know God has them and is well able to resolve them for us.
If you are a person prone to worrying and fretting over things the task of giving your cares to the Lord may take some time. I know, it did for me. As the saying goes, "practice makes perfect" and in this case it's true. I learned when a thought of worry enters my mind, I catch it immediately and quickly say out loud, "That's not my problem!" Or sometimes I'll comeback with, "I cast that care on the Lord for He cares for me greatly and affectionately." I verbally respond to attacks because I've found my mind has to stop and hear what I am saying which breaks the thought pattern. I do this over and over again for however long it takes for the devil to stop hammering me. The enemy is relentless in his attacks. I can assure you though, with time and practice worrisome thoughts will become less and less as we resist him.
1 Peter 5:9 says, "Resist him, stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced, by your brotherhood in the world." To stand steadfast is to present a solid, impregnable front to the devil. Every time we get an evil thought of worry, we put up a shield against it. The Bible says, "...resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7)."
As we continue to protect our faith by shielding our minds from the thoughts of the enemy, we will become proficient. Casting our cares is the key for our victory.
Lastly, Paul points out that "the same sufferings," the attacks the devil launches against us, are also being launched against our fellow Christians throughout the world. Peter lets us know as we deal with our cares by standing steadfast in the faith, we are in good company, the side of the triumphant Savior!