"Do not be
anxious about anything...." Philippians
4:6 Paul’s words to the believers in Philippi are not easy ones to swallow.
When you tell someone not to do something, there has to be a good reason why
they need to stop. While Paul was giving
advice to the believers, he was dealing with his own issues of incarceration.
Also, there was an anxious spirit stirring by a couple of the ladies in the
church family (Euodia and Syntyche) who were fighting and causing division.
Anxiousness is gripping and it keeps us in a whirlwind of uncertainty. The Greek word translated as "anxious" is "to be pulled in different directions." Our fearfulness pulls us in one direction and our hope pulls us in the other direction; thus, we are pulled apart!
Worry is an old German word called: Wyrgan. It means, "to strangle, choke, or tear at the throat with teeth." The word is still used in its original meaning: when we speak of a cat worrying a mouse. "Cats play with their prey before they kill it. A slap to the head sends the mouse reeling and sliding across the floor. While it is still groggy, a slap on the other side sends it sliding back. It is only when the cat gets tired of this game that it goes for the throat."
Dictatorial regimes enjoy watching their citizens become anxious and worrisome. Once the regime has them in the grips of anxiousness, they now can effectively rule and control them. Jesus, on the other hand is not about being a tyrant dictatorial king who oppresses his subjects, but rather, a gentle Savior whose desire is to remove stress, anxiety, and a worrisome life.
Matthew 5 records that Jesus nestled himself on the side of a mountain and began to teach the large crowd who had diseases, pain, demon-possession, seizures, and those who were paralyzed. In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus is giving spiritual guidance to the thousands with the problem of a worried and stressed out life.
Anxiousness is gripping and it keeps us in a whirlwind of uncertainty. The Greek word translated as "anxious" is "to be pulled in different directions." Our fearfulness pulls us in one direction and our hope pulls us in the other direction; thus, we are pulled apart!
Worry is an old German word called: Wyrgan. It means, "to strangle, choke, or tear at the throat with teeth." The word is still used in its original meaning: when we speak of a cat worrying a mouse. "Cats play with their prey before they kill it. A slap to the head sends the mouse reeling and sliding across the floor. While it is still groggy, a slap on the other side sends it sliding back. It is only when the cat gets tired of this game that it goes for the throat."
Dictatorial regimes enjoy watching their citizens become anxious and worrisome. Once the regime has them in the grips of anxiousness, they now can effectively rule and control them. Jesus, on the other hand is not about being a tyrant dictatorial king who oppresses his subjects, but rather, a gentle Savior whose desire is to remove stress, anxiety, and a worrisome life.
Matthew 5 records that Jesus nestled himself on the side of a mountain and began to teach the large crowd who had diseases, pain, demon-possession, seizures, and those who were paralyzed. In Matthew 6:25-34 Jesus is giving spiritual guidance to the thousands with the problem of a worried and stressed out life.
Want to know How to live an anxious and worry-free life
Jesus' way?
Check this out from Matthew
6:25-27
Don't fuss over food
and clothes (Matthew 6:25)
Don’t forget who
provides for you (Matthew 6:26)
Don’t fight what you
cannot change (Matthew 6:27)
Remember, Be God Controlled
Brian
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