Don't Worry!

Here at Southern I've had the opportunity to be a part of some amazing Bible Studies and Classes. This past Tuesday I had the opportunity to sit under Mrs. Mohler, the presidents wife, and hear a little Bible devotion on "Worry and Anxiety in our Lives". Here are my notes, sorry they aren't as good as the real deal(and I don't have the time to write out all the verses so you will have to look them up)...But I think you will get the general idea and hopefully learn something that will help and encourage you this week.


What is worry? - It is the opposite of Faith. It is a painful uneasiness about the future. (Please do not confuse this with depression, they are very different).

Lets ask ourselves "what are my faults that are causing worry in my life?" Once you know what they are you can better understand how to control them and then you can "Take them Captive."

Taking Anxiety Captive:

1. Matthew 6:25-34
God knew we would struggle with worry. That is why he gave us so many verses to help us out. Worry and anxiety is a lack of faith in God. It is a sign that our faith in God is not rooted in his word!

2. Philippians 4:6
Take them (our worries) to God!!! PRAY! Do not let your prayers be vague and meaningless and repetitive. The more vague our prayer is the more vague the answer may be, and that could cause us to miss it. Vs. 7 gives us the promise that God will give us a peace and that should give us a hope.

3. 1 Peter 5:6-7, Psalm 55:22
Again we need to be in prayer to God. Let him know what you are concerned about! He CARES for you!!

4. Luke 10:38-42
Jesus pinpointed it! He was only going to be there for a few minutes. This was going to be the memory of Him that they would have forever! Martha needed to calm down and sit with Jesus and drink in all that he had to say and teach them. This is a good lesson for all of us to learn. We could all use a little time out to spend with God.

Lets overcome this Anxiety:

2 Corinthians 10:3-5
We are led by the spirit! When a worried thought enters our minds lets look at(and/or pray about it) in 2 ways. Does God say it is ok to have this thought? If so than keep it. Does God want me to get rid of this thought? Then get rid of it and immediately go to Him in prayer for help.

Habakkuk 3:17-19
He (God) has overcome our worry. He won't give you anything that you can't overcome. Mrs. Mohler gave the illustration of a person climbing a hill. Some of us have to climb taller hills than others, but God is right there with us the whole time! So, be grateful for your hill...no matter what size it is!

Daniel 3:16-18
Do we have the Faith to endure? Can we serve God no matter what? Do I have a "But if not, than___" like Daniel and his friends. Meaning if God doesn't answer our prayer the way we want, we will STILL serve him and endure until the end. And we will be praising God no matter what happens to us. I'm going out on a limb here, but I am guessing that most of us aren't going to be put in a fire today...but we could use this analogy on a much deeper level. What is our "fire" this week? Am I praising God through it?

Tools to Fight with:

1. Prayer - be diligent in this. Ephesians 6:10
2. Meditate on Gods word every day - and KNOW it!

If God cares enough for the Birds, how much more He cares for us! We need to continue to seek to be the Godly women he made us to be (or men). Psalm 37:4 - we need to trust him.

Final thought!

Because we live in a fallen world, Suffering is inevitable(!) BUT worrying is optional!