The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is now going through and studying the book "Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World" by Max Lucado. In this book Max reminds us that we can trust God in all things. He is good, he does good, and he is working all things together for your good and His Glory.
The answer to being anxious for nothing is to remain C.A.L.M.
Celebrate God’s Goodness
Ask God for Help
Leave Your Concerns with God
Meditate on Good Things
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Rick Warren Devotion
Jesus says in Luke 8:7, “Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants” (CEV).
In this story Jesus tells, seeds are planted and begin to grow—but the seeds are in weed-infested soil. So, as the plant grows, the weeds grow up around it. The weeds choke out the life of the plant, and it never bears fruit.
Here’s what Jesus says is the meaning of Luke 8:7: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature” (Luke 8:14 NIV).
Three things can choke spiritual growth in your life and keep you from hearing God:
Worry. Worries are weeds. When you’re preoccupied with the problems and pressures of daily living, it’s harder to hear God.
Riches. Are you so busy making a living that you don’t make a life? Working to pay bills for things you don’t need, to get out of unnecessary debt, or to make more money than you actually need can stunt your spiritual growth.
Pleasure. There’s nothing wrong with pleasure, but be careful that you don’t become so busy pursuing fun that you miss God and his plans for your life.
Do you know what’s always true of weeds? You don’t have to cultivate them. They grow automatically. In fact, weeds are a sign of neglect. If you see weeds in your yard or garden, it means you’re not tending it.
It’s the same with your spiritual life. The weeds in your spiritual life show that you’re neglecting time with God.
Spend time each day tending to your spiritual garden. Pluck out the weeds as soon as they appear so they don’t take over the good work God wants to do in you.
The answer to being anxious for nothing is to remain C.A.L.M.
Celebrate God’s Goodness
Ask God for Help
Leave Your Concerns with God
Meditate on Good Things
Being anxious does not mean you are not a Christian.
Christians battle anxiety. Jesus battled anxiety, for heaven’s sake! In the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed three times that he wouldn’t have to drink of the cup (Matt.26:36–44). His heart pumped with such ferocity that capillaries broke, and rivulets of crimson streaked down his face (Luke 22:44). He was anxious.
But he didn’t stay anxious. He entrusted his fears to his heavenly Father and completed his earthly mission with faith.
What we need to do is confront the chaos around us, pandemic, injustice, homelessness, crime, etc., by choosing what Max calls the tranquili-tree, over the anxie-tree.
Celebrate God’s goodness. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). Turn your attention away from the problem, and for a few minutes celebrate God. It does you no good to obsess yourself with your trouble. The more you stare at it, the bigger it grows. Yet the more you look to God, the quicker the problem is reduced to its proper size. This was the strategy of the psalmist.
Psalms 121:1-2 NLT I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!
Do not meditate on the mess. You gain nothing by setting your eyes on the problem. You gain everything by setting your eyes on the Lord.
Matthew 14:28-30 NLT Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
As long as Peter focused on the face of Christ, he did the impossible. Yet when he shifted his gaze to the force of the storm, he sank like a stone. If you are sinking, it is because you are looking in the wrong As long as Peter focused on the face of Christ, he did the impossible. Yet when he shifted his gaze to the force of the storm, he sank like a stone. If you are sinking,
it is because you are looking in the wrong direction.
Is God sovereign over your circumstances? Is he mightier than your problem? Does he have answers to your questions? According to the Bible the answer is yes, yes, and yes!
If he sustains all and controls all, do you think he has authority over this situation you face?
What about his mercy? Is God’s grace great enough to cover your sin? Again, yes! “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1 NIV).
Rejoice in the Lord.
This is the day that the Lord has made.
This is step one. Do not hurry past it. Face God before you face your problem. Then you will be ready to…
Ask God for help.
This is the “A” in C.A.L.M.
“Let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). Fear triggers either despair or prayer. Choose wisely.
God said, “Call on me in the day of trouble” (Ps. 50:15 NIV).
Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7). There is no uncertainty in that promise. No “might,” “perhaps,” or “possibly will.” Jesus states unflinchingly that when you ask, he listens.
So ask!
Engage in specific prayer. And engage in promise-based prayer. Stand on the firm foundation of God’s covenant. “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (Heb. 4:16 NIV).
Then Leave your concerns with God. The “L” in C.A.L.M.
Let him take charge. Let God do what he is so willing to do:
“Guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).
Leave it with him to fix it. Leave your problem with him.
“I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim. 1:12).
God does not need our help, counsel, or assistance. When he is ready for us to reengage, he will let us know.
Until then, replace anxious thoughts with grateful ones. God takes thanksgiving seriously. Because gratitude keeps us focused on the present.
The Bible’s most common word for worry is the Greek term merimnate. The origin is merimnaō. This is a compound of a verb and a noun. The verb is divide. The noun is mind. To be anxious, then, is to divide the mind.
We worry about the past. We worry about the future. Anxiety takes our attention from the right now and directs it “back then” or “out there.”
Meditate on good things.
The “M”.
“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” (Phil. 4:8).
Don’t let anxious, negative thoughts take over your mind. You cannot control the circumstances, but you can always control what you think of them.
Page 152
Today, I will live today.
Yesterday has passed.
Tomorrow is not yet.
I’m left with today.
So, today, I will live today.
Relive yesterday? No.
I will learn from it.
I will seek mercy for it.
I will take joy in it.
But I won’t live in it.
The sun has set on yesterday.
The sun has yet to rise on tomorrow.
Worry about the future? To what gain?
It deserves a glance, nothing more.
I can’t change tomorrow until tomorrow.
Today, I will live today.
I will face today’s challenges with today’s strength.
I will dance today’s waltz with today’s music.
I will celebrate today’s opportunities with today’s hope.
Today.
May I laugh, listen, learn, and love. And tomorrow, if it comes, may I do so again.
help.
A new day awaits you, my friend. A new season in which you will worry less and trust more. A season with reduced fear and enhanced faith. Can you imagine a life in which you are anxious for nothing? God can. And, with his help, you will experience it.
Bible Study Audio
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