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Tracts and Literature
To Help You Reach the Lost, Grow In Christ, and Sound a Faithful Warning
©Fundamental Evangelistic Association
The Worry Habit And Its Awful Toll
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A Scriptural Meditation on the Sin of Anxiety
"Be careful for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made
known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus -Philippians 4:6, 7
THIS
WORLD IS FULL OF TROUBLE, occasioning a
vast amount of anxiety and worry. Worry is one of the most natural things in the world,
but it is also absolutely unnecessary, useless and harmful.
Everyone, even children, know something about worrying. In that
sense we are all Marthas, "[anxious] and troubled about many things" (Luke
10:41).
Worrying has whitened more hair, filled more lives with misery,
helped to fatten more physicians' purses and brought more people to an untimely grave than
all the wars of the world. For this terrible toll that worry has exacted of the human
race, what benefit has worry given? Not one iota of good has worry accomplished. It is a
total loss. It has a place only on the debit side of the ledger.
THE SENSELESSNESS OF WORRY
Worrying is foolish for three reasons. First, it does no good to
the person or thing worried about. Jesus said in Matthew 6:27: "Which of you by
taking thought [being anxious] can add one cubit unto his stature [to the measure of his
life]?" If we worry about our home cares, our business cares, our health, our
finances or some loved one, we do not benefit them in the slightest degree.
Second, by worrying,
we unfit ourselves for thinking clearly and acting effectively in any emergency where our
help is required and we could do some good.
Third, we annoy
those who know that we are worrying about them. On these three counts, then, we indict the
dread demon "Worry," which is the parent of the Indigo Imps-the
"Blues."
But the
senselessness of worry is not the strongest indictment against it. Worrying is a great
sin.
THE SINFULNESS OF WORRY
Doubtless many who agree that worrying is useless will hardly be
ready to admit that all worrying is sinful. But the Word of God declares in Hebrews 11:6
that "without faith it is impossible to please Him." And in I John 5: 10 we
read, "He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar." But little thought is
necessary to see that worry and faith in God have nothing in common. Since lack of faith
displeases God, then worry, which is lack of faith in God, is a sin. To disbelieve God's
rich promises of help and blessing at all times, regardless of circumstances, is to make
God a liar. Surely that is a great sin. Let us, therefore, abide by the judgment of God's
Word on worry and recognize that worry is sin. There is nothing that so wounds the heart
of God as to have His children doubt Him. Since the Word of God declares, "it [is]
impossible for God to lie" (Heb. 6:18), it is therefore impossible to please God
without trusting Him.
When we worry, we
doubt three things about God. We doubt His love; we doubt His wisdom; we doubt His power.
We say by our worrying that God does not love us, or He does not know just what is
best for us or He has not the power to help us. We would not want to say these things with
our lips, but they are what our worrying proclaims. What a hideous monster worry is! Let
us remember,
"God nothing does, nor suffers
To be done,
But thou wouldst do thyself, if thou
Couldst see,
The end of all events as well as He."
To recognize that worry is a great sin will help greatly to stop
it. Some may think that not to worry is equivalent to being indifferent and careless. That
is not true. There is a wide gulf between worrying and indifference. One may have a tender
solicitude for the welfare of a loved one. which is not at all inconsistent with faith in
an all-wise, all-powerful, loving God. But this is a long way from the fretful anxiety of
unbelief. Borrowing a leaf from Whittier, faith can say,
"l know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care.
THE CURE FOR WORRY
Is there a certain cure for this ravaging disease of worrying? Most
assuredly there is. It is only for those who are children of God through faith in the
atoning Blood of the Son of God. It is in Him that the promises of God are yea and amen.
There is no other Name but the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that opens the door of God's
treasure house. The one who has not received God's Son as his Sin Bearer and Lord has no
relief from God for his worry about the life that now is, nor that which is to come, until
he does so receive Christ. We cannot know Jesus Christ as our Burden-Bearer until we have
first received Him as our Sin-Bearer.
What is the remedy
for the child of God? In Isaiah 26:3 the prophet writes. "Thou wilt keep him in
perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Note
carefully these words. God keeps in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him. Our
difficulty is that instead of keeping our minds stayed on God, we keep our minds staved on
our troubles. When we do this, our troubles assume immense proportions. and God seems so
little. Let us reverse this process and keep our mind stayed on God, then He will appear
big, as He truly is, and our troubles will dwindle to their true insignificance in
comparison to God. This is the right procedure.
Romans 8:28 is
another message from God's Word that ought to slay worry in the life of God's children:
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God." It
is not some things, but "all things. " They may not be good in themselves, but
they will all work out for our good under the controlling hand of God. If we really
believe this, there will be no room for worry in our hearts, and we will never worry again
as long as we live. Some who are not Christians try to steal this promise, but believers
only have a right to it.
How wonderfully
sweet are verses 38 and 39 of Romans' 8th chapter! Here the apostle Paul declares that
nothing-not death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present, things future,
height, depth nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God which rests upon
us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Bear in mind then that the love of God stands between you and
all possible harm.
CHRIST OUR BURDEN-BEARER
First Peter 5:7 so beautifully speaks of our Lord's tender
compassion: "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. "
It is sad that so
many who are trusting in the Lord Jesus as their Sin-Bearer do not realize and practice
His presence as their Burden-Bearer. Instead of trusting their burdens to Jesus, they moan
about them to their friends. How dishonoring to Christ! The bait that catches many on the
hooks of the false cults of our day is the emphasis placed on God as our Burden-Bearer,
while denying that Jesus Christ is our Sin-Bearer. Christ classes such ones as thieves and
robbers who are trying to climb in some other way instead of coming in through the Door.
God will give them their deserts. But we who have received Jesus Christ and are trusting
His atoning blood for forgiveness of our sins should be honest. Let us no longer lie by
saving we believe Christ cares for us and at the same time be anxious and worry about
things that concern us. Jesus invites us to be done with anxiety and to cast it all upon
Him, for He Himself cares for us. How blessed and how safe!
The Christian should
be radiant with joy and confidence in Christ at all times. It is not sufficient to be as
happy as possible "under the circumstances. " The Christian has no business
being "under the circumstances. " His place in Christ is on top of the
circumstances. Can you trust Christ to take care of your sins and not trust Him to take
care of everything that concerns you in this life? That is a shameful inconsistency.
The story is told of
an old lady who was walking along the road carrying a loaded market basket. Another lady
in a buggy stopped and asked her to get in and ride. This she did, but held the heavy
basket on her lap. The lady who was giving her the ride asked her why she did not
set the basket down, as there was plenty of room to do so. The recipient of the kindness
said she thought that if the other lady was good enough to give her a ride, she ought to
be willing to carry her basket on her lap. How foolish her reasoning was is apparent to
all, for the horse had no less weight to pull if she held the basket nor more if she put
it down. Christ is strong enough to carry not only ourselves but also all that concerns
us.
THE LIFE PLAN OF THE BELIEVER
The Damascus steel sword of all worry killers for the child of God
is Philippians 4:6-7. "Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace
of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus." This blessed beam of the glory of Heaven ought to give every believer
"the shouts." Here is the way God would have us live:
First - Anxious about nothing
Second - Prayerful about everything
Third- Thankful for all things
The result of living this way is that our hearts and thoughts are
surrounded with a protecting garrison, stronger than any company of soldiers, namely the
peace of God that passes all understanding. God's peace will fill our hearts, despite the
fact that we cannot understand why things are permitted to be as they are, nor understand
how they are coming out nor understand how we can have peace of heart and mind in such
circumstances.
Nothing is too small
or too insignificant for a child of God to take to Him in prayer. He invites us to come
with confidence unto the Throne of Grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help
us in the time of our need (Heb. 4:16). But when we take our anxieties to God, let us
leave them with Him.
THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
The Christian dwells in the safest place in the universe. God's
wings are above us, underneath are the everlasting arms; and the Angel of the Lord
encamps round about us to deliver us. How happy and rejoicing we should be! Let us
remember then that although worrying is very natural, it is just as senseless and just as
sinful as it is natural. It is a thrust at the heart of God. It is a vote of want of
confidence in His Government.
The man or woman who
is free from care is the happy, capable and efficient man or woman. Worry saps our
vitality and robs us of our peace, our poise and our power. Perfect peace is the
believer's permanent portion. Constant care about things makes dwarf Christians. In
the interpretation of the parable of the Sower, Jesus said that the thorny ground was the
heart where the cares of this life choked the good seed of the Word and prevented it from
attaining full development. It is after things to eat and wear, et cetera, that the people
of the world feverishly scramble, but with the believer it should not be so. Our Father
knows what we need and has promised to supply it (Phil. 4:19). Can we not trust Him who
paints the lilies and feeds the birds?
A PICTURE OF PEACE
Two artists agreed to paint pictures that would portray their
respective conceptions of peace. The first painted a calm, little pond, surrounded
by woods and open plain. There was no sign of life in the picture, not even the indication
that a breath of air was stirring. The other artist painted the scene of a raging, roaring
waterfall. A branch of an elm tree hung out over the precipice, close to where the water
leaped from the river bed to make its long drop. Suspended from the branch of the tree,
and very near the water, was the nest of an oriole. Here sat a mother-bird upon some eggs,
in perfect peace amid the rush and roar of the falling water. This latter picture
represents true peace; the other depicts not peace but stagnation. So may we, in the midst
of life's stormy sea, know perfect peace always, if Christ, Who commanded the turbulent
winds and the angry water to be muzzled, is our Pilot.
"At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky,
And flinging the clouds and towers by,
Is a place of central calm.
So here is the roar of mortal things,
I have a place where my spirit sings-
In the hollow of God's palm."
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