“Do not be over-anxious about anything, but by prayer and earnest pleading, together with thanksgiving, let your request be unreservedly made known in the presence of God.” (Philippians 4:6, Weymouth Translation),
There is nothing wrong about being careful or even carefree. Many of us know people who seem to thrive on making sure the details are right. This is good. We should be cautious and not careless when it comes to this present life regarding our property our family’s future, our health. (I Timothy 5:8) But you can go to the other extreme where you’re so worried about things you have no control over that their dominating your life and you become a chronic complainer.
As in Jesus’ day and so in ours there will always be local circumstances and world events over which we have no control. The economy; the weather; the world-stage; how your friends react to you are always in a state of flux. To try and control them is as futile as trying to hold water in a sieve. God wants us to have such confidence in him that our minds are composed and calm.
Our Lord gently admonished in Luke 10:41: “Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things.” Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus were longtime associates of the Lord Jesus. He had spent many hours in their home and had come to love them as close friends. No doubt the Lord saw the circumstances controlling Martha, and softly insisted that she not lose the thing of greatest value by sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the immediate.
And that is the admonition in our text. Nothing should absorb us so much that we attempt to solve things on our own before submitting our requests to our Lord. Jesus made it pretty clear: “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on” (Matthew 6:25). Look around, our Lord insisted. The birds and the flowers can’t be altered by our “thoughts.”
After all that Job’s friends did to “encourage” him, our great Creator reminded Job of the many wonders that he could see if he paid attention. Nothing is beyond the care of our Lord. Sometimes, we need reminding, too.
He’s Only A Prayer way!
Pastor Bryant