Worry is a conversation you have with yourself about things you cannot change. Prayer is a conversation you have with God about things He can change.
Tina included this message in our Covenant church bulletin on a recent Sunday. It was the one Sunday Cindy and I were out of town so I did not see it until we returned. Also, the only people who saw it were those who attended Covenant Church that Sunday. I usually email the bulletin to our entire church mail list with an update on our Sunday service, but I didn’t send an update that week since I was out of town. But this message really stuck with me when I read it, so I wanted to share it with you.
Our current concerns may be about our own personal situation or that of a close loved one (health, financial, and behavior are very common concerns we may experience). Our concerns can also cover large groups of individuals that we likely wouldn’t even know. For example, over the past two years, our national and global concerns may have risen due to COVID and politics which have raised concerns in our hearts and minds. So we may have a concern right now for a single person in our life or we may have concerns for a large group of people swirling around us at any given time over situations where we have no control. In either situation, here is a single verse of scripture that I think captures Tina’s message above.
Psalm 55:22 – Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
In this Psalm, David pours out his heart to God over a major concern in his life at that moment. Though he is experiencing great despair, David expresses his ultimate confidence in God. The use of “burden” here represents the totality of your concerns – whether it be one or many, and whether it is a short term concern or very long term! David promises each of us that the Lord is with us and will sustain and uphold a believer during the struggles in their life.
Are you sharing your burdens with God continuously? Are you looking to Him for the answers you need to have peace and harmony in your life?
2 Thessalonians 3:16 – Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians when they were involved in an intense spiritual battle in spreading God’s Word where there were evil people all around disavowing the presence of God. Paul knew that God’s characteristic of peace would be the single most meaningful attribute for the Thessalonians to understand and reflect on in their battle for man’s soul.
John 14:27 – Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.
Accept God’s peace as He offers it and find comfort in your life now and forever!
Next week, Cindy and I are leaving town again for 2 weeks to visit our children and their families in DC. So I will not be able to send my next TGIF until March 3. May God bless our travels and may He bless your lives while we are gone.