WORLDLY CARES

Luke 21:34
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with… the
anxieties of life

This verse starts with the following words
NIV Be careful
NLT Watch out
ESV Watch yourselves
NKJV Take heed to yourselves
NASB Be on your guard

This is Jesus giving me and you a warning, the kind of warning
we give or even shout out to someone not watching where they
are going so as not to fall or injure themselves.

So what should we watch out or be on our guards from?

Carousing/Dissipation

Drunkenness

Worries/Cares/Anxieties of Life

I believe as disciples the first 2 are not a problem for most of us
so we will focus on number 3 alone.

So what are these Worldly Cares that Jesus is warning us about?
Financial Security
Our Health
Job Security
Our Relationships
The Future; and so on

Why this warning?

Jesus warns us because He knows that these
worries

Can make us Unproductive and Unfruitful.

Can affect the value of our life and our health

Most importantly, can make us lose HEAVEN

Do you really believe that God will take care of these things if
we hand them over to Him?

Matthew 6:25 – 34
When you worry, you display your lack of trust in God. You are
saying that He cannot provide even though he has promised to
take care of your needs (vs 32 and 33)

I know what it is to worry because I am a worrier. I worry over
every little thing not just the big ones. I would worry over what
others feel, about safety of my friends and family on the road,
what to make for dinner, and so on; you name it – I Worry.

This was my lifestyle until I developed High Blood Pressure.
I have since learnt my lesson.

Why Worry When You Can PRAY?
This is what I do now and the difference in my life is clear, I am
more joyful and filled with peace, and my blood pressure is
controlled.

Worrying can be likened to a rocking chair; it moves but takes
you nowhere.

God is calling you to, “Be Still and Know that He is GOD”.
As we enter this New Year, let us choose to be still.

Matthew 13: 7, 22
Watch out and be on your guard against the worries that can
choke life out of you.

John 16:33
Worries and troubles will come in our lives but Jesus assures us
that he has taken care of them. Therefore we will overcome.

Hebrews 4:14 – 16
Jesus knows and understands what you are going through. Take
your worries to him and drop them at his feet.

Revelation 3:11
Hold on to Jesus in spite of any worry or anxiety; don’t let Satan
through worldly cares take your crown from you

PRACTICALS

1. When tempted to worry, pray or worship God instead.
2. Seek solutions to the problem, discuss with your discipler or
   someone who can proffer a solution or give another
   perspective
3. Get busy with kingdom-building activities.
   Further reading Matt 6:25-34 Matt 13:1-23

Source: 40days Devotional Power Series Booklet #11

Addtional

Why worry when you can pray?

I think I need to improve in my prayer life.
Most times, I get worried unnecessarily and the truth is that getting worried doesn’t solve my problem. then why worry?

Matthew chapter 6 vs 34 says..
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We shouldn’t let worries about the future overwhelm us. The best is to turn to the Lord for support.
How do we turn to the lord for support? It’s by praying.

1st Peter 5:7 says: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Why worry?

When we could bring all our anxieties, worries, problem, burden and all to God.

Mathew 6:25 says: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

God, doesn’t want us to get worried about material things.

Recently, I get worried about my physic, I was chubby, and all of a sudden I lost a gross amount of weight due to my sickness. It affected and had a negative influence on my self-esteem. Reading the Scriptures today, God is telling me, that I need to stop worrying about it.

That He will take care of everything.

Because truly, getting worried will not fetch me the solution. It will never restore me to being chubby and instead of restoring, it will only make me get worse. So I see no reason why I should be worried and I stopped worrying about it. Today, I am way better than before.

Remember, there are two days we should never worry about: yesterday and tomorrow.
We can’t live in the past. We can’t live in the future. We can only live today. When we worry about tomorrow’s problems, we miss the blessings of today and we cannot solve tomorrow’s problems with today’s power. When tomorrow arrives, God will give us the power, perspective, grace, and wisdom we need. The Bible does not say, “Give us this day our monthly bread. ”It says, “Give us this day our daily bread,” Matthew 6:11. God wants us to depend on him one day at a time. May God continue to help us. Thank you.

Miss. Tobi Owei Preye