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Bring your Worries into Captivity by Rev. Shine. P Thomas
No Life is Worry Free
Worries can steal our Joy
Our mind has a great capacity to think. We think one way this moment and the other way the very next moment. Such thinking is good; it can produce a lot of good results. But sometimes thoughts can easily distract our mind and induce worry in us. Worry is a powerfully destructive force that can keep us from being happy in life. Many people today are living depressed, defeated, and tormented lives all because they never know how to guard their mind and control their thought life.
We are going to see how we can guard our mind to stay focused on the good things God has for us.
John 10:10
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. God wants us to be happy and enjoy our life.
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. If we trust in God and if our minds are fixed on God we can have happy lives but if we keep our mind on our circumstances, it will lead to worry.
Listen what the angel spoke to the shepherds on the night that Jesus was born:
Luke 2:10-11
10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. God promised in the Bible that he will take our fears and David testifies that God delivered him from all his fears. If God promised to take away human fear, if God has done that to the people in the Bible, he can as well do it for us.
How to Handle Worry?
1. Identify your worries
We need to expose every thought that causes worry and try to understand what is the root cause of the worry? The first chapter of the book of Genesis tells us about God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. Finally, God created man and woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden. This was a time of complete innocence, complete joy. There was no worry, no fear, no stress, no anxiety. Everything was peaceful and calm.
God gave them a command not to eat from the fruit of a particular tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But when we read about Adam and Eve, they ate the forbidden fruit. They disobeyed God and suddenly everything changes. God comes to the Garden and looks for Adam and Eve; they’re not where they usually are. So He calls out, “Adam, where are you? Where are you?”
Genesis 3:9-10
9But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Do you see here, in an environment of perfect peace fear came in for the very first time? Man became afraid, worried, stressed, and anxious. Fear came in because man did something – he disobeyed God, in simple words man sinned against God which resulted in fear. Fear made them hide from God.
I do not know what is causing your worry or fear, it maybe your circumstances, it maybe something unknown, it may be your sin. Let’s identify the source of your fear. Once we identify your worries, we can work to eliminate them.
2. Know the Source of our Happiness
Know where true happiness comes from.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. (This means fear and love cannot coexist.) But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Listen to that “perfect love drives out fear.” The closer you get to love the further you get from fear, but the closer you get to fear the further you get from love. So the more you know about love, the more you get to love the further you go from your fear and worry. Love is the source of happiness.
I John 4:7-8
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
In simple terms God is love, the more you know God, the less you fear in life. So when we love and obey God, we no longer need to be afraid of anything other than God. So the source of our happiness is God.
3. Cast your worries
Now that we know the source of happiness, we need to cast our fears to God.
Psalm 55:22
AMP Cast your burden on the Lord[releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you. God says if we will cast all our cares on him he will take care of us.
How to cast our worries?
1 Peter 5:6-7
AMP 6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation]under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, 7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
a. Humble ourselves
1 Peter 5:6
AMP Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,..
One of the reasons we worry is because we try to figure out everything in our own thinking. We try to solve all our problems in our own strength. All this sometimes does is lead to frustration and confusion and we end up trying to carry our load by ourselves. This has never been God’s plan. We got to quit trying to figure out everything on our own and we need to realize that we need God’s help; we need his strength and power and We need to tell God, I cannot do this all by myself.
If we try to solve all our problems God will just step aside from our problem. If you want to do it all by yourself you can still continue to be a child of God but you will never know how God can solve that problem for you and how God wants to bless your life. God is more than willing to take care of you. He is more than willing to turn your worry and fear situations around. He wants to let your dreams to come to pass but unless you first let go of it, God cannot work in your life.
Understand God is God, he is all powerful, he has the best for you, he does not need our help. He can solve all our problems all by himself. Let God do his work in our life. Many times want to do our things ourselves. No the first thing we got to do is to humble ourselves and come to realize that we cannot do things on our own, we need God’s help.
b. Cast your cares
Cast means to hurl or to throw with force and Cast our worries to the Lord with force.
The Bible did not say just tell your burdens to the Lord, the Bible says cast your cares on the Lord. God knows it is not easy for us have all problems and not worry. Sometimes we need to throw all your anxiety, stress, and fear on the Lord just like a fisherman cast the nets into the sea. So many times we carry them all. God says cast them on me, I will take care of you. You can lead a worry-free life and see how I am going to lead you.
Some of you are facing problems in your life that in your natural thinking is very impossible; there is no solution according to you. No, you got to quit on what your mind is telling and dwell on what God is telling about you.
God is the Same Yesterday, Today and Forever
Our problems maybe big, but our God is much, much bigger. Our obstacles maybe high but we serve the Most High God and our enemies maybe powerful but our God is all powerful. Jeremiah said there is nothing that God cannot do. He is the God that closed the mouth of the lions. God parted the Red Sea for Israel. He is the God who broke open the prison doors for Paul and Silas. The good news is that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What God did for all of them in the Bible he can do for every one of you?
God has a supernatural way to meet every one of your needs. You may not know how God will do things for you but God says just give it all to me and I will care for you. He is Jehovah Jireh, the God our provider, He is the great I am – not the great I was or I the great will be, no now God is the great I am and He is God now. He can take your cares now. It is time to stop worrying and be joyful and lift up your head and walk, make the decision to cast your cares on the Lord.
1 Peter 5:7
Casting the whole of your care[all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
Notice the phrase ‘once and for all.’ Sometimes we worry is because we cast our cares on the Lord one day and take them back the next day. Many times we sing and pray, “Lord I trust you, Lord I believe you, Lord I give you full control,” but then after sometime we get worried. God is saying give it to me once and for all and then refuse to worry.
I have decided not to worry for anything because I have cast all my cares to the Lord. Yes, I have challenges as a pastor, as a husband, as a father but I am not going to let anything put me down. Presently I am facing three major situations that I have to be worrying about and lose my peace on. I am not going to worry because I have given them all to the Lord.
I have seen that often problems comes like a mountain, it is all so big and dark but when I cast it onto the Lord he just levels the mountains and makes me walk in leveled ground. The devil keeps on bringing the fears into us but if you have already given it to the Lord refuse to worry, refuse to get upset because you have cast it on the Lord. Once you have given your cares on the Lord, it is time to worship God.
4. Worship instead of worry
You can worry or you can worship, the choice is up to you. Worrying allows the enemy to work in your life, but if you worship it allows God to work in your life.
The Bible speaks of a King of Judah called, Jehoshaphat. He and his people were surrounded by three major armies and they were getting very close to them. In the natural they never had a chance to win. They were facing an impossible situation. I am sure they were sensing worry, defeat and was upset. But I love what King Jehoshaphat did. He gathered all the people and then said a simple prayer.
2 Chronicles 20:12
O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.
In his time of need he makes 3 powerful statements:
a. He said God we do not have any power of our own.
b. He said Lord we do not know what to do.
c. God our eyes are upon you.
What they were really doing was casting their cares on the Lord. What they were saying is Lord we are totally giving it to you because we know that you can see us through. Since they refused to depend on their strength, because they trusted God, they refused to worry that allowed God to take care of them and intervene. God intervened and said:
2 Chronicles 20:15
He said, “Listen King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you” ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’
God directed them to march directly into the enemy’s camp, singing, shouting, and praising. In simple words God told them to worship him. Notice they were not worrying, they were worshipping. When the enemy armies heard all that noise of worship they got confused and fought among themselves. When it was all over, not one of the enemies was alive; the people of Judah were victorious and plundered the enemy. When you learn to worship instead of worry, God will start working miracles in your life.
Turn your Worry into Worship
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!
In this powerful passage of scripture Apostle Paul gives us a clear strategy on how to defeat worry and anxiety.
Philippians 4:6
Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. Paul is saying just turn that situation around to the Lord and go on rejoicing.
Jesus said:
Matthew 6:27
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? See worrying will not change anything. What is really so sad about worrying is that most of the things we worry about usually do not come to pass.
Some of you here are carrying a very heavy load. You do not have to; God wants you to be free. He wants you to enjoy your life. Make a decision to cast your worry to the Lord. When you are reminded about your worries, refuse to worry; turn your worry into worship. Let’s captivate the thoughts of worry and walk in the freedom that God has won for us.
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