Friday, August 23, 2013

Devotional 105 Pride and Anxiety

TO BE ANXIOUS IS TO BE PROUD

"Faith admits the need for help. Pride won't. Faith banks on God to give help. Pride won't. Faith casts anxieties on God. Pride won't."  Battling Unbelief    John Piper

Isaiah 51: 12-13 "I am He who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man... and have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth..."

I've had many things on my mind lately....troubled marriages close to home, illnesses of loved ones, my responsibilities in church and community. One night I woke up at 3:30 a.m. with a worrisome thought, another day I realized I had a nagging headache, yesterday my neck muscles were sore. I know you've been there, too, because scripture tells me that we all are tempted to be anxious.

Scripture also tells me not to worry. Matthew 6:25 "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life..."  Philippians 4: 6,7 "Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for what He has done." Anxiety is disobedience to God and pride.

How is an anxious heart like pride?

 Because it is trying to rely on self to get a certain result instead of God. Living as if it is all up to me is a proud spirit. When we think it is all up to us we worry about our failure to get the job done.

So what do we do?

 When I woke up in the wee hours of the morning I recognized I was worrying and confessed my sin of worry to God. I thanked Him for His sovereignty and control, His goodness and justice, His ability to work all things out for His glory. I told Him I trusted Him to do what was best for me and my loved ones no matter how dire the situation might get. And then His peace came.

In 1Peter 5: 6-7 It indicates that the way to humble yourself under God's mighty hand is to cast all our burdens on Him. I gladly do that today.

How about you?