Ingredients For A Worry-Free Life

Each and everyday of our lives are filled with or surrounded by the busyness, uncertainties, and problems of this world. The hustle and bustle society we find ourselves moving through can sometimes cause you to run and hide. Our daily schedules are so cluttered with job responsibilities, meetings, serving the church, running errands, and taking care of our families that at the end of the day you realize that you haven’t stop to eat anything and that you have so much more to do. Let me use another color and make this picture even uglier. With all this that we have going on, throw in health problems, financial strain, mental distress, and struggles with sin.

Is this a vivid picture to anyone? Can anybody relate? Are you experiencing or going through some of these things in your life? Has anxiety gripped you? Do you constantly worry about money, your job, and your health? This message talks about ingredients for a worry-free life; but if you don’t have anything to worry about I can stop right now. I don’t want to preach to the choir. Well since I need to know and be aware of these ingredients, I’m going to continue. You see I’m not the Word, I just deliver it. The same mailman who delivers mail to your house, has mail waiting on him when he gets home.

I know somebody is thinking to themselves, and wondering is it really possible to live a worry-free life? I mean if I can wake up in the morning despite my hectic schedule and still be in my right mind at the end of the day, is that possible? Can I suffer from physical pain and sickness, can the doctor tell me that they can’t do anything else for me and I still have peace within, is that possible? Can I lose my job, TXU give me a notice to disconnect my lights, and the bank threatens to repossess my car, is it possible not to worry? I want to give somebody hope this morning by saying yes, it is possible to live a worry-free life.

This isn’t a theory or my personal opinion, but the Word of God shares with us several times that a worry-free life is possible. In the letter Paul wrote to the Philippians, he said, “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.” The word “careful” used here means full of cares and anxiety, so Paul is simply saying, “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything and when you do this you will experience God’s peace, and His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Not only did God speak through Paul, but he spoke through Peter as well when he said to the Jewish Christians living in Asia Minor, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” In other words give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you. There are many more scriptures that show us that a worry-free life is possible, but it is up to us to choose whether we want to worry or not. Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith.

David, the author of Psalm 34, experienced in his life, times of worry. Once David displeased God and the consequence of his sin caused the death of 70,000. David had many enemies and was constantly in battle with other nations throughout his reign as King. David couldn’t keep his household in order, his son raped his daughter, and his other son killed that son, and then after a few years he came after his father David. Earlier in David’s life, King Saul became jealous of him to the point that he sought to take his life. So we see that David had much to worry about and many things happened in his life that would cause anxiety. But in our selected text David gives us ingredients for a worry-free life.

When Israel’s army returned from the battle where David defeated Goliath and the Philistine army fled, the women sung a song that said, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” Because of this song--because Saul’s daughter Michal loved David so much, and because God was with David, these all contributed to the jealousy and hatred Saul had for him. This jealousy harbored in the heart of Saul so much that he sought to take David’s life. And just like anybody would do if someone was trying to kill them, David ran. In his escape from Saul, David found himself fleeing to one of the five chief Philistine cities called Gath.