Worry part 2

Fear demands our worry while faith demands our worship. Never do the two coincide.

Why is worry a sin? Because it replaces the hole left behind when faith has vacated the premises of our heart.  The very foundation of the heart of every born again Christian is faith.  Faith is what everything else is built upon: peace, joy, discipleship, spiritual growth, knowledge, patience, strength, hope, etc… Fear is NEVER the bi-product of faith.  Therefore, when worry is present, we know it to be the response of a faithless heart.

In other words, fear is to be considered a barometer of our faith.  We can measure our faith based on the level of fear that exists in our heart.  You might ask, “Isn’t fear natural?”  The answer might be, “Yes, when we are living a life of faithlessness.”

Allow me to put a little pressure on your Christianity by asking you a challenging question: do you believe in God?  In particular, do you believe that Jesus is God? In John 14, Jesus makes a challenging statement. In verse 1 He says, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”  Notice that He begins with a valuable word of comfort, “Let not your heart be troubled”, and then He tells us how that is possible, “ye believe in God, believe also in me.”  Here we see God’s method of removing worry from our life: the belief that Jesus is God.  Friend, something supernatural takes place when the believer of God makes the connection that God and Jesus are one!

Now, David said in Psalm 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, [There is] no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, [there is] none that doeth good.”  The point I hope to make is this: David isn’t speaking here merely to the atheist who has no single belief in any god, but rather, those who say they have belief in God but do not place their trust in Him.  He is saying that we are fools for claiming the name of God but allowing worry to fill the void of a faithless heart.  Also, notice that David declares worry to be an abominable work and that this is not good.

It needs to be understood that when we exercise worry and not faith, we aren’t eliminating the worship of a god, but rather, we are eliminating the worship of the true and living God; and in particular, Jesus Christ.  In other words, whatever it is that we are worrying about becomes our god and worry becomes the tool by which we worship that god. 

Think of it this way: when we worry, we are openly placing a value upon the ability of God to perform. In other words, fear becomes more valuable than our faith in God.  In our heart, we are telling God to step aside while we handle this matter with fear instead of faith. May we seek today to place all our trust in the true and living God who considers anything less than complete faith an abomination.  

So why should a Christian never worry?

1. Our Residence in Glory Is Constructed
2. Our Redeemer and God is Coming
3. Our Reservation by Grace is Confirmed
4. Our Reunion is Guaranteed with Christ