You Don't Have To Worry

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

— Philippians 4:6

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

— 1 Peter 5:7

Casting the whole of your care — all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all — on Him; for He cares for you affec­tionately, and cares about you watchfully.

— 1 Peter 5:7 (amplified)

Some people are content in the knowledge that God knows and understands their problems. But still they hold on to their cares, so they don't get deliverance. It's not enough that God cares and understands. We must go on and do what He said to do — cast all of our cares on Him, for He cares for us. This is the prayer of commitment, of casting or rolling our cares and burdens on Him.

Psalm 37:5 says, "Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."

Jesus had this to say:

MATTHEW 6:25-27

25      Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what
ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.
Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither
do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

Jesus is asking which of you by worrying is going to change Take no thought for your life" (Luke 12:22).

Paul said in Philippians 4:6, "Be careful for nothing...." The Amplified Bible reads, "Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything .. . ." Too many times people want to pray and get God to do something about their anxieties. But God tells you to do something about them. He said, "Be careful for nothing." Or, "Don't you fret or have anxiety about anything."

As long as you do not take this first step — as long as you fret and have anxiety — you are nullifying the effects of your prayer. You haven't cast your burden on the Lord. You still have it. And if you have it, God doesn't.

Casting all your care on Him isn't something you do every day. It's a once-and-for-all proposition. This puts your situation in His hands. The Lord could do a lot for us, but often we don't let Him because we don't follow His rules that govern the operation of prayer. We don't do what He tells us to do. Then we wonder why things don't work out.

If you cast your burden on the Lord,

He has it. You don't. You cannot go around talking about your worries anymore. A lot of people don '£ want to get rid of their wor­ries. They claim they do, but they really don't. If they got rid of them, they wouldn't have any reason for people to sympathize with them. They wouldn't have anything to talk about. They would have to cease conversation entirely.

Years ago, when I was on the bed of sickness, this was the first thing God began to deal with me about. I had to quit worrying before I could receive healing for my body. This is the reason a lot of people are not healed. Sometimes worry is what is keeping them sick. Any disappearance of the symptoms would only be temporary, because the cause of the sickness is still there.

You may think a 15-year-old boy couldn't worry. But children are replicas of their parents, and my grandmother and mother were world-champion worriers. As a child, I knew they were always worrying. I had a heart condition, and I couldn't go out to run and play like other children. I had to stay in with my mother and grandmother. Hearing them complain and worry, I learned to worry at a very early age.

While on the bed of sickness, I got saved, and I promised God I would never doubt anything I read in His Word. I further said, "As I read the Word and better understand it, I promise to put it into practice."

I read the 26th verse in Matthew 6, "Take no thought for your life...." The Bible I was reading had a footnote that told me the Greek read, "Do not be anxious about tomorrow." Another reference said, "Do not worry, do not be filled with anxiety." I was full of anxiety, worry, and fear. Not only was I nearly dead, but also I was about to worry myself the rest of the way to my grave!

My conscience bothered me because I was not prac­ticing the Word. As the Lord dealt with me, the words seemed to leap from the pages of the Bible. Yet I didn't think I could live without worrying — without being anxious — so I closed my Bible. When I did, I got in darkness. I opened the Word again and tried to read, bypassing that Scripture.

Until then, everything I'd read had been all light and blessing, but now it was all dark and fuzzy to me. You're not going to get more light (or understanding) until you walk in the light you already have. Don't be concerned about the things you don't understand in God's Word; make sure you practice what you do know. The rest will take care of itself.

I read on. I even studied about the Antichrist. (That certainly was not what was bothering me.) But I felt guilty because I was not practicing the Word. Finally, I made a commitment to God.

I said, "Lord, forgive me for worrying and for being full of anxiety. Forgive me for fretting and for being discouraged. Forgive me for having the blues and feeling sorry for myself. Forgive me for having a 'poor old me' attitude. I know You'll forgive me, because You said You would if I would confess it. From this day on, because You've forgiven me, I promise I'll never worry again. I'll never be filled with anxiety again. I'll never be blue again. I'll never fret again. I'll never be discouraged again."

Many years have passed since I made that commit­ment. Although I'll confess I've been sorely tempted, just like you have, I have not worried. I haven't been filled with anxiety at any time or become overly anxious. I haven't had the blues in all these years! God's Word works. I wouldn't encourage you to do anything I wouldn't do, or haven't done.

When I was 21 years old, I was pastor of a church which was 23 years old. There were people in that church who had had the baptism of the Holy Spirit two years longer than I had lived. You can understand why I would feel insufficient. The church had problems, and I knew something should be said, but I didn't know what to say. I knew if I said anything, I would say the wrong thing.

I prayed, "Lord, there are problems here. I don't know what to do. I feel so inadequate." I could sense the Spirit of God reminding me of the Scripture, "Casting all your cares upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7).

I said, "Lord, I know I have responsibilities, but I'm going to turn this over to You. I'm not going to worry. I 'm going to leave everything else to You."