Weary From Worry?

Bread

The Lion Loosed

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Palm 23:4 (NIV)

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah

Palm 46:1-3 (NIV)

19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 4:19-20 (NIV)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon--from Mount Mizar.

Palm 42:5-6 (NIV)

Butter

The Lesson Learned

“God has as a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for He is able to do all things. Believer, until you can drain the ocean dry of omnipotence and break the towering mountains of almighty strength into pieces, you never need to be afraid. Don’t think that the strength of a human being shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. As long as the earth’s huge pillars stand, you have enough reason to remain firm in your faith. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply you with daily strength. While He is able to uphold the universe, don’t even dream that He will prove unable to fulfill His own promises. Remember what He did in ages past, in the former generations. Remember how He spoke, and it was done; how He commanded, and it stood fast. Shall He that created the world grow weary? He hangs the world upon nothing; shall He who does this be unable to support His children? Shall He be unfaithful to His word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doesn’t He ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds His chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of His hand? How can He fail you? When He has put such a faithful promise as this on record, will you for a moment indulge the thought that He has out promised Himself, and gone beyond his power to fulfill? Ah, no! You cannot doubt any longer.” Charles H. Spurgeon

“Regret looks back. Worry looks around. Faith looks up.” John Mason

“Courage for the Christian is simply doing the next right thing through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results in God’s loving hands. He is always faithful to give the grace sufficient to meet each need as we need it. Courage is faith in action – not faith in ourselves but faith in Him.” BHY

“This God is no stranger to the hard road. This God walked the hardest road for us. And whatever road we’re walking one now—then somehow, someway—that road is good. There’s not just breadcrumbs of good for you on it; the road itself is good... In this hard, He is doing something holy. He is doing something transformative. Even as our hearts rage. Even as they break....This upside-down road, where His power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), where troubles are an opportunity for great joy (James 1:2) because troubles usher us into His presence, and in His presence, there is fullness of joy. (Psalms 16:11). This is Who. A God who does not forsake. A God who is not cruel. A God who is not stingy with grace. Not a sparrow falls outside of His care. When we find ourselves walking through a dry and weary land where there is no water, shaking our fists at why...Fix the eyes on this God. Remember and rest in Who. Maybe comfort isn’t found so much when we ask, ‘Why is this all unfolding here and now?’ — Maybe comfort is found more when we rest in Who is enfolding us all here and now.” Katie Ganshert

“Worry is a form of atheism, for it betrays a lack of faith and trust in God.” Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

“God promises victory to those who endure, so He gives us enough strength – usually just enough so faith is still required – to keep us going. He wants us to succeed and not give up. In the walk of faith, we can’t afford to doubt, worry, fear, or complain – the very symptoms that kept a generation of Israelites out of their Promised Land. All of these attitudes severely undermine God’s work on our behalf, not because He can’t do whatever He wants but because He has chosen to relate to us on the basis of our faith. Negative attitudes and words undermine faith. They devalue the very currency we have to use in God’s Kingdom. Wherever God’s voice and your faith are leading you, do not be afraid or dismayed.” Chris Tiegreen

“Worry is the great robber of peace and joy. What has it ever done for us except to make us miserable and steal away our valuable time? Can we really afford to give in to its far-reaching destruction? If we are a child of the King, if it is true that God is our loving Father and that all of His promises are for us and “yes” in Jesus, then what do we have to worry about?” BHY

“We all know the value of joy. It alone is the proof that what we have really satisfies the heart. Just this makes gladness such a mighty element in the Christian character: there is no proof of the reality of God’s love and the blessing He bestows, which men so soon feel the force of, as when the joy of God overcomes all the trials of life. And for the Christian’s own welfare, joy is no less indispensable: the joy of the Lord is his strength; confidence, and courage, and patience finds their inspiration in joy. With a heart full of joy no work can weary, and no burden can depress; God Himself is strength and song.” Andrew Murray

“The grace that’s in this moment is your mana. Wish for the past and you drink poison. Worry about the future and you eat fire. Stay in this moment and you eat the mana needed for now.” Ann Voskamp

“God employs His people to encourage one another. We should delight that God usually works for human beings with other human beings. It forms a bond of friendship, and being mutually dependent on one another, we are fused more completely into one family. Work to help others, and especially strive to encourage them. Talk cheerily to the young and anxious inquirer, lovingly try to remove obstacles out of his way. When you find a spark of grace in the heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame. Leave the young believer to discover the roughness of the road by degrees, but tell him of the strength which dwells in God, of the sureness of the promise, and of the charms of communion with Christ. Aim to comfort the sorrowful, and to animate the hopeless. Speak a word in season to him who is weary, and encourage those who are fearful to go on their way with gladness. God encourages you by His promises; Christ encourages you as He points to the heaven He has won for you, and the Spirit encourages you as He works in you to will and to do of His own will and pleasure. Imitate divine wisdom, and encourage others according to the Word.” Charles H. Spurgeon

“We can wait in eager expectation rather than wringing our hands in worry as God has promised to cause all things to work together for our good and we can trust Him in any and every circumstance. He is ever faithful to His promises and loving towards all He has made. He loves us with an everlasting love and His eye is ever on us. He was faithful in the past, He is faithful today and He will be faithful tomorrow. What a gracious and loving God we serve.” BHY

“I am inwardly fashioned for faith, not fear. Fear is not my native land; faith is. I am so made that worry and anxiety are sands in the machinery of life; faith is the oil. I live better by faith and confidence than by fear, doubt and anxiety. In anxiety and worry, my being is gasping for breath—these are not my native air. But in faith and confidence, I breathe freely—these are my native air.” E. Stanley Jones

“Walk on the path of integrity with confidence, and show that you are invincibly strong in the strength that confidence in God alone confers. In this way you will be delivered from anxious care; you will be untroubled by evil tidings, and your heart will be fixed, trusting in the Lord. How pleasant to float along on the stream of providence! There is no more blessed way of living than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God. We do not need to worry because He cares for us; we do not need to carry burdens because He invites us to cast them upon Him.” Charles H. Spurgeon

Heart Savor

The Lion Roars

  • We are never to be lacking in zeal but keep our spiritual fervor serving the Lord.
  • We are to be zealous for the Lord’s great Name – through His power for His glory.
  • Create in me a pure heart and a steadfast spirit Oh Lord.