The Word To Live By"5-10-26
Phil Waggoner
Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34
The Word To Live By: This is a quote by Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount. It begins in chapter 5 and ends in chapter 8 of Matthew. To me, it’s full of the promises of God, the ways of God and the attitude of God, all of which He wants us to walk in in our life. One thing I’ve learned through the years is that when God says, “Don’t do this,” or “Do this,” it is entirely possible for us to accomplish. So, when Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow,” or the Holy Spirit says through Paul, “Be anxious for nothing…” it is possible to achieve that level of belief, thinking and attitude. We are looking at how to do this from Philippians 4:1-9. Starting from step one in verse 1, the first four things are, Stand firm in the promises of God. Step 2, get along with people. As much as it depends on you, be at peace with everyone you come in contact with. Step 3, find someone to help. Step 4, rejoice in the Lord. That brings us to verse 6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” That’s pretty self-explanatory. Something to note here is the phrase, “In everything.” Notice it doesn’t say “for everything.” We don’t give thanks for things that worry us; we give thanks for the promises that get us out of it. Without a bunch of details, the other day I had the gate of a freight elevator come down on the back of my head and neck. (It had a safety switch, so as soon as it hit resistance, it went back up.) I immediately said (in a whisper), “Thank you, Jesus, that by Your stripes I am healed.” That’s giving thanks in everything and not for everything. And then the other thing I want you to see is, “By prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.” You don’t have to tell everybody what’s worrying you. (The exception to that rule is if you are praying in agreement with someone for what’s worrying you to not happen. I’ve come to learn that prayer partners who understand what it is to pray in faith are precious and vital.) Talk to God about what’s worrying you and expect an answer. Then do it. Also, supplication is for writing down the answer in the form of a thank you note. In fact, thank you notes to God are a good idea. Write on a card and keep it, “Thank you Jesus that you bore my sins in your body on the cross so that I could die unto sin and live unto righteousness, and that by your stripes I was healed. It means a lot to me that I don’t have to carry that burden and worry about it. Love Always, Phil. (Don’t sign my name, sign your own. 😊) Now we are to the part where a lot of the times we think we’ve done what we need to do to not worry but it’s still there. The peace of God that passes all understanding doesn’t seem to be there guarding our hearts and minds. There are two more steps that are critical to not only know, but to do. Spoiler alert: They are found in verses 8 and 9.
Read through the Bible in a year: Acts 19:21-41; Judges 11:34-12:15; Job 40;
Read through the New Testament and Proverbs: Proverbs 10, Luke 21:1-18, James 2
The sum of Thy Word is Truth Psalm 119:160