4 But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, 5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; 6 by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, 7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 8 by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
(II Corinthians 6:4-10)
These are paradoxes, like that expressed by the writer of Psalm 94, who in midst of a multitude of anxieties finds that God's comforts delight his soul. When Christians are overwhelmed within them, they are led to a rock higher than themselves.
The biblical authors knew and understood that anxieties are to be resisted because they are dangerous. The can: choke the Word, distract and paralyze the Christian, and cause a believer to fail to benefit from the presence of Jesus.
You can have many things make you anxious, yet still enjoy the peace that passes all understanding. I Peter teaches that the child of God who strives to do right, to be submissive under the hand of God and not to resist can still see a variety of troubles. I Peter also tells us what we are to do as submissive men and women: Cast all our cares on Him for He cares for you.
What are we to do? Cast all our cares upon him. Picture people throwing coats over a donkey as he walks by. A burden weighs down the heart of a believer. What to do? Cast your burden upon the Lord, like a child carrying a backpack too heavy for him.
How do you do that? A great promise of God's Word is found in Philippians 4: 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.
Determine not to be overwhelmed, not to have your imaginings run wild.
Bring your burden to the Lord in believing, thankful prayer.
It sounds simple, but how often do we do it? Many times a person will confide anxieties in this pastor and I will ask: Have you received no relief when you prayed? They will confess that they haven't prayed at all. Tell it to God. Do first things first.
Cast yourself on God's promise, on believing, thankful prayer. You are thankful because God's heart is open to you. It is in prayer that we recognize our lack of sovereignty. There are things that you can't do. We can't save all the people we want saved or adopt all the children we want to help or see how a bill will be paid or a relative healed a or child's heart won to the Lord.
Thankful prayer means that rather than take burdens on oneself, give them over to God in confident, believing, thankful prayer. Even if He does not bring about all that we desire, our circumstances don't change, our child goes astray, we can say, "Living God, you can take the burden of my anxiety, you can change me."
How do you get rid of anxieties? The same way a man fills a watermelon truck: one melon at a time. He picks up one at a time and throws it in the truck. He doesn't try to juggle two or three or seven watermelons all at one time. When you feel a burden, pick it up and throw it on the truck, give it to the Lord. Now the analogy falls apart a little because watermelons don't jump back out of the truck and into your arms. Worries do, don't they but if it does, just put it back where it belongs. If an anxiety wakes you up in the night, put it back where it belongs.
Cast it over and over again to the Lord, as much as you are conscious of the burden-- God is telling you to give it. Why? Why should we give it to the Lord? You know some reasons: God can do what we can't do; God is wise and powerful and he knows the end from the beginning, He can see the full tapestry that we can't see. But the Bible says you're to cast your care upon Him because He cares about you. His compassion and His love and His concern are the reason. When God sees his daughters in anxiety, he looks not with anger or disappointment but with loving concern.
You KNOW He cares because of the cross. He cares for His own. He is the Good Shepherd who cares for His sheep.
As you feel the burden, cast it on the shoulders of God, omnipotent, omniscient God who loves and delights in you.
Philippians 4 says the peace of God comes as we pray. It does not come as God powerfully eradicates the need. The peace that passes all understanding is not because the situation is resolved. We humans want to know peace by solving problems. If you owe $75,ooo and your aunt dies and leaves you $100,000 you have a peace that is understandable. It is not a peace that is beyond understanding. This is not what we are talking about.
The psalmist goes from struggle to praise because in the psalm there is a transition. He begins by looking at the reality of the situation and makes arguments with God, but then He realizes who God is and ends with triumph and praise. His agitation turns to peace and confidence. Remind yourself WHO God is and WHAT He has done.
Make things a matter of prayer, recognize what you are thankful for in the midst of the unresolved trouble. And the sweet comforts will come directly from God. "Your consolations cheer my soul, your comforts delight my soul." He is talking of God directly doing this. Sometimes he uses human instruments but that is not what we are talking about here. This medicine is divine. The soul in anxiety engages in prayer. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to reveal the Truth of God. The Lord who knows you and loves you and orders your days begins to sweeten your soul.
It sounds sappy, but it is the same idea as "being cuddled." Children are made happy by a cuddle. A child of God is cuddled by God. By those means, taken up in His arms, warmed, cheered, comforted.
Remember in prayer that God has revealed himself as our Father. Nothing changes that. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
'For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.'
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
We are so timebound. We ask why is God bringing disappointment and hardship. He is working out a plan not seen for 20, 30 or 40 years. Trust Him for that. Hezekiah prayed and the Lord extended His life. But during that time Manasseh was born, one of the most evil of kings. But out of his line came Jesus.
In I Peter 1:6, the Lord promises that: "though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls."
You will know that kind of joy, peace delight in the Christian life. It is BOTH trials AND joy inexpressible. You have a hope that others can ask you about: a calm, confident, joyful trust. You have a flatbed full of watermelons, and none in your hands.
There are times we must fight. John MacArthur has a book called Anxiety Attacked, about warring against it, the fight of faith so we can enjoy peace. Be at war against your own feelings. Go back to the promises.
Faith is fighting a multitude of concerns when you don't know how God will provide, be honored, fit this into His plan.
The most delightful truth is all the delights that are in the cross of the Lord Jesus. The more we forget that, the more we have these troubles. We make it all about what WE should do instead of focusing on a crucified risen Savior. Delights flow from the heart of Christian faith. You need never fear facing God in judgment, a God so pure and holy, and you, so full of sin. That fear was dealt with at the cross. You can be confident that you will be received in righteousness, not because of your own righteousness but because of the cross. He died because of anxiety and unrighteous fear -- sin. He requires that you trust. All our thoughts must be rooted in a faith in Christ. It is not the deeds you do, but trusting what Christ has done that is the source of joy and gladness.
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