It’s so easy to worry. We all do it. After all, there are so many things we can worry about on this earth! Financial worries, relational worries, health worries, future worries, etc. Now, with the Coronavirus affecting our entire world, the natural reaction for many is to worry. “Am I or somebody I love going to get the virus?” “Will we lose our jobs?” “Will we make it through this very difficult time?”
As “human” as it is to worry, God tells us in the Bible that we should not worry about anything. Not one thing! Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB) says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Matthew 6:34 mentions, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” And Matthew 6:27 adds: “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” Of course, some might say, “That’s easy for you to say! But how am I to be anxious for nothing, or not worry about tomorrow, even if worrying doesn’t add a single hour to my life, when I have a loved one who is dying? Or I lost my job? Or I can’t pay my bills? How am I not going to worry about those things?”
The simple but profound answer is this: “Rest.” We need to rest in God, and His promises for our lives. Worry and Rest cannot coexist at the same time. Resting in God actually pushes out worries we may have. And it brings us the peace we long for. We need to make sure we are resting in God, and His promises, and not the lies of the Enemy. Some people may have the mindset of, “When I see it happen, then I’ll believe.” Or, “I won’t believe until I am healed from this disease. Or until I get a new job. Or until I find the spouse God has for me.” However, God wants us to believe in His promises, and rest in them. Are we believing in them? What are some of the promises of God?
One promise is found in Isaiah 40:29: “He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power.” Another promise is in Isaiah 40:31: “Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” And Psalm 34:17 adds, “The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all these troubles.” Are we believing these promises? We need to be. We need to be resting in them, as we ultimately rest in God.
Psalm 116:7 says, “Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.” That is what we are supposed to tell ourselves, when we find ourselves worried. “Return to your rest, O my soul! For the Lord has dealt bountifully with you!” Psalm 116:8 says, “For You have rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.” And Psalm 116:9 adds, “I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” Are we trusting that the Lord deals bountifully with us? That He rescues us from the worries of this world? And that we shall walk with the blessings God gives us, in the land of the living? If not, we should be!
Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Maybe one reason God gives us the Sabbath day, and asks us to keep it Holy by doing no work on it, is because He knows how valuable resting in Him and His promises are for our lives. Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” And Hebrews 4:9 says, “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” In reality, this command for resting on the Sabbath each week is a good model for what we should be doing with the worries of this life. Giving those worries to God. Not being burdened with them, with the type of anxiety one might have with trying to make a paycheck each week. But to take a second. Pause. Breathe. And rest in God. Know that He provides for all our needs. He is ultimately in control.
Exodus 33:14 says, “And He said, ‘My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.’” Isaiah 26:3 mentions, “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.” Matthew 6:25 says not to be worried about our lives. So, why be anxious or worried about anything? I pray that we indeed trust God with our lives, as we Rest in Him and in His promises!