Trusting God with Your Worries
Message Summary:
[Philippians 4:6-9 NKJV] 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Today, Pastor John taught us that there is a choice to make about our worries and anxieties. God does not want to carry the cares and worries of this world. When we pick up the cares and fear of this world, they can choke the ability of our faith to stand on the Word of God. God doesn’t want us to care them; He wants us to cast them on Him. We must humble ourselves and intentionally throw all our cares away from us onto the Lord. Yes, throw them! He did not say, place them down or toss them. “Cast” is a word that indicates force and focus with intentionally. That’s how God wants us to cast our cares on Him. And here is the beautiful thing, He never drops the ball! Every single worry, care, or fear must be cast on the Lord.
God loves you. You are the object of His affection. And because He loves us, He gave us the greatest gift in the person of His Son, Jesus. And because Jesus has us, we have Him. Jesus wants to carry our burdens for us. He takes them, manages them, and realizes blessing back into our lives. Paul tells us the solution to anxiety is prayer and supplication. Prayer is the equivalent of casting all of our cares on Jesus. Rather than carry of worries, we release them in prayer to God, knowing He will take care of them for us. And in this great exchange, as we release our worries by prayer, He gives us back peace that passes all understanding. We leave our worries and cares on the Lord, without a tether, and we receive the peace of knowing God is more than able to take care of it.
And when we are triggered by those cares we have released to God, we have a choice to make. Our thoughts will activate our feelings. We can either allow our feelings to pull our stings and convince us to try to crawl back into the driver’s seat. (Although truth be told, when we do this, it is not us driving our lives. It is our anxieties.) Or we can make a different choice. We can choice to once again release that care back to the Lord. We intentionally cast it once again where belongs, in the care of the Lord. We have to choose the release of peace over the temptation of control. We have to rewire our minds – intentionally – by choosing to release and cast off the old man (strip off the weights of the old) and instead put on the new man (rewiring our mind with the Word of God).
Scriptures:
[1 Peter 5:6-7 NKJV] 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
[Ephesians 4:20-24 NKJV] 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Discussion Questions:
1. What does the Bible tell us about the purpose of feelings?
2. Why is it important to pay attention to your feelings, rather than ignore them?
3. How do we “cast our cares” onto the Lord?
4. What does God promise we will receive when we cast our cares on Him?
5. What do we do when the circumstances of our life try to retrigger that care, when we feel tempted to take back control?
Life Application:
Over the next week, as you study the key scriptures, ask yourself: Are you casting all of your cares on to the Lord? Be honest with yourself. Are there cares or worries that you are still carrying? Are there fears that trigger you and tempt you to keep control? Here is a very important truth you need to hear. When we refuse to release control of these cares to the Lord, we are not actually in control of them. They are in control of us. To truly experience peace from these cares, you have to release control. You have to let them go, and give them to the only One who does have control and the power to manage them. When you make a choice to let go and give them to God, he will take them from you and release peace and blessings back into your life. Letting go is far better than holding on.