When we worship God, we regain our perspective and remember, “He is the King! He is in control.”
Remembering to praise our King
Psalm 47
Tag: worry
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Be still
Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10, ESV)
I was thinking on those words this morning.
They could be a command to the nations to stop all their wars, all their fighting. Many interpreters take it that way.
But as I was thinking on it this morning, it seems to be God’s word to us, his people, who are troubled by all that’s going on in this world.
God’s telling us that he is still in control. That the day is coming when all war and conflict will cease. When at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and tongue confess that he is Lord.
And so he tells us, “Cease your fears. Quiet your anxieties. Trust me.”
It reminds me of Jesus calming the storm with a word, saying, “Peace, be still.” And then asking his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
So today, I choose to put away fear and anxiety and to know he is God.
I choose to sing with the psalmist, “God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear. He is with me.” (Psalm 46:1-2, 11)
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Because you’re Immanuel
Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me… (Psalm 23:4)
Jesus, this is a crazy, messed up world.
But because you are Immanuel, I will not fear what this world fears. (Isaiah 8:12)
I will not worry about the things this world worries about. (Matthew 6:25-34)
I will not be consumed with anger the way this world is. (James 1:19-20)
Instead, I choose to trust and wait for you, my good Shepherd. (Isaiah 8:17)
When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3)
Whenever I look at the news or social media, I often have remind myself to lead my heart.
It’s so easy to see the evil in this world and fret.
But the King is still on his throne. He hasn’t abdicated.
Jesus is watching. And when he returns, he will judge all things. (4-6)
On that day, all will be made right. And I will see his face. (7)
So in the meantime, I choose to set aside my fears, anger, and worry.
And I choose to trust in my good King.
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Weighed down?
But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life… (Luke 21:34, ESV)
The words “weighed down” really struck a chord with me this morning.
I look at the news every day, and it’s easy to get weighed down by all that’s going on in the world.
Some people deal with it by trying to escape, whether by drinking or drugs, or by throwing themselves into their work or hobbies.
Others “deal” with it by moaning and groaning on social media.
But how often do we do what Jesus commanded? What Jesus himself practiced?
How often do we take time with our Father and pray? (Luke 21:36-37)
By doing so, we not only gain strength to stand, but we also gain perspective.
The Kingdom of God is near. This world and it’s problems won’t last forever. All Jesus has said will come to pass.
And by remembering that, we’re able to straighten up and raise our heads, knowing our redemption is near. (28)
Is your heart weighed down by all that’s going on in the world? How often are you taking all this to your Father?
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Why so afraid?
Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? (Mark 4:40)
Those words struck me this morning.
How often do we look at our problems with fear or worry?
How often does Jesus say to us, “Why are you afraid? Why are you worrying? Don’t you trust me yet? Don’t you believe I love you and am working for your good?”
How much less stress would we have if instead of focusing on our problems, we looked at Jesus and said, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him! If he is that powerful, and if he truly cares about me so much, then what am I worrying about?”
Lord, increase my faith. Teach me to trust you.
This is one of those passages that I know in my head, but I don’t know if it has truly sunk into my heart. In fact, I’m pretty sure it hasn’t.
I know because I still worry about stuff, most recently about my job and my finances.
So when I read this, my mind says, “That makes sense. God takes care of the birds. He takes care of the flowers of the field. Surely he will take care of me.”
And yet, I still find myself worrying about things. How can I save more money? Will I be able to get a better job?
While some things I worry about are to a degree controllable, other things are, at least to some degree, not.
So again, my mind says, “You’ve done what you can. Now leave it in God’s hands. Be at peace.”
But my heart wars against it and continues to worry.
I can just hear Jesus speaking to me, “O you of little faith! The world runs after these things, but don’t you know that your Father cares about you? Don’t you know he’ll take care of your needs?
So take your eyes off these things and put it on him. If you do, if you seek him and his kingdom above all things, he will take care of you.”
To be honest, because I struggle with this so much, all I can think of to do is to pray. Please feel free to join me.
Father, you said that you love me. That you care for me. I do believe it. But Lord increase my faith. I have so little of it, and that’s why I worry so much.
But Lord, you have been faithful to me in the past. I have no real reason to doubt you. Why do I doubt you now?
Lord, help me to get my eyes off of my worries, and on to you, that “all things that surround [may] become shadows in the light of you.”
You are the only true reality. Help me to focus on you. And to trust. In Jesus name, amen.
One of the most amazing things to me is that the God of this whole universe cares about me, even the simple and perhaps mundane things. Yet he does. And so Jesus tells us to pray,
Give us today our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)
Jesus will talk about this in more detail later when he talks about anxiety, but God does care that we have what we need to live. Food. Clothes. A place to stay. Of course, all of these things require money. And to have money, we need a job.
So often we worry about these things. It is, I must admit, something that I’m thinking about constantly as I interview for a new job next week.
But God doesn’t call us to worry about these things. To let these things dominate our mind. Rather, he calls us to pray about them and leave them in his hands, knowing that our heavenly Father loves us and will meet our needs.
How often do we worry about things instead of praying? (I’m speaking to myself too, by the way).
I suppose the big question we need to ask is, “Do I really think my Father really cares about me? That he really will give me all I need?”
Because if we would just realize this, all our worries would shrink and disappear.
How about you? Are you worrying about the circumstances of your life, or are you praying?
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