40 Day Daniel Fast Day 30

Philippians 4:5b-6a The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, 

Did you know that 40 million adults in the United States, that's 19.1%, suffer from some form of anxiety disorder? The National Alliance on mental illness recorded this information. That's a nice amount of honest people to say it; now, how many people do we have that are not as honest to tell the truth? What is the cause of anxiety? Do we have to live our lives worrying and stressing? I know some of you may feel it's something we can't control. I mean, there are things to stress about in this world; Let's start with your home. Do you have kids? Do you own your own business? Are you responsible for people? I get it; we all have things that could cause us stress, but notice what Paul says to us; he says DO NOT DO IT! But before  Paul tells us not to stress, he says it serves no purpose to stress because "The Lord is near."

Now, I know scholars would suggest this is a future talk and would say it's talking about the coming of the Lord, but it's not in this context. You see, Paul is saying to us, God is near you! He uses the Greek word "engys," meaning a place or position. So Paul is saying, God is near you, just like he is near the broken hearted. He is as near as the psalmist said in Psalm 145:18 "The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." You see, Paul can tell us not to get all bent out of shape in life because God is near! Can I say it like this, have you ever been scared before? Think back to childhood when you thought you heard a sound? What did you do? You called your dad; you called your mom. Can you stay with me! Why? Something about the parental figure, the trusted person, the secure person that calms us, but you know what else it does? It ensures us that we know that everything will be alright! Can I ask you a question? How much more trusted is God? How much more is God security? Sure, I know you have your business, and you may be wondering how you can ensure you won't get wiped out. I know you have your precious kids, I have three myself, and you want them all to be safe when they are not in front of you. What does Paul tell us? He reminds us hey; there is no reason to be worried; there is no reason to allow anxiety to set in. God is near! He is close to you! So, can we start the healing?

Challenge
What causes you to worry? Write it down, Now, every time it comes up in your mind from now until Jesus comes back, put God’s word on it and tell the situation what the word says about it! Find a scripture that speaks to that situation.