With global markets sliding, banks failing, and personal questions about employment, retirement accounts, and home mortgages multiplying, it’s not surprising that many of us have been worrying more than usual.

Sometimes my thoughts echo the person who said, “If you’re not worried, you don’t know what’s happening.”

On the other hand, we’ve all found that too much anxiety is unhealthy. The wrong kind of worry adds to the weight of our concerns the overburden of imagined trouble.

So what can we do when the ground under our feet starts moving? One option is to use the moment to think about what really matters to us. Another thing we can do is to see if there is anyone we can trust to give us honest answers that cannot be trumped by the “what-ifs” of worst case economic, social, or medical scenarios.

At this point, my mind is drawn once again to the one who said, “You cannot serve both God and money. So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life– whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not” (Jesus in Matthew 6:24-27 NLT).

But quoting Jesus raises other problems. Some of us think we’ve messed up our lives so badly that it would be hypocritical for us to open our Bibles. Some of us have spent too much time criticizing the followers of Jesus’ to want to be counted among them. And some of us are quite sure that we know ourselves too well– that if we tried trading our worries for faith in Christ– it wouldn’t last.

None of the above thoughts is without merit. They just miss the point. According to the Bible, there are two kinds of people in the world: Those who are “in Christ”, and those who are not “in Christ.” That one difference trumps all other worries. Not because those “in Christ” are better people, and not because those who are “in Christ” are immune to worry, moral failure, or financial ruin. The difference is that those who are “in Christ” have in him all that counts in life and death, and all that can never be lost either in this life or the next.

So let’s look at these two options that depend on whether or not we personally entrust ourselves to Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior.

What if we are not “in Christ”? Then according to the New Testament we are:

1. Condemned for not believing in him (John 3:18)
2. Lost (Matt 18:11; 2Cor 4:3)
3. Guilty of sins against God and others (Rom 3:19)
4. Spiritually dead, i.e. separated from God (Eph 2:1-5)
5. Alienated from God (Eph 4:18)
6. Enemies of God (Rom 5:10; Col 1:21)
7. Children of wrath (Eph 2:3)

On the other hand,

What if we are “in Christ”? Then according to the New Testament we are:

1. Declared to be right with God  (Rom 3:24)
2. Redeemed from the slave-market of sin (Rom 3:24)
3. Not subject to condemnation (Rom 8:1)
4. Free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2)
5. Inseparable from the love of God (Rom 8:39)
6. Members of the Body of Christ (Rom 12:5)
7. Set apart for God (1Cor 1:2)
8. Called saints (1Cor 1:2)
9. Made spiritually alive (1Cor 15:22)
10. Destined for victory (2Cor 2:14)
11. Enlightened by God (2Cor 3:14)
12. A new creation (2Cor 5:17)
13. Grounded in the profound simplicity of faith (2Cor 11:3)
14. Given spiritual freedom (Gal 2:4)
15. Children of God (Gal 3:26)
16. One with all members of the family of God (Gal 3:28)
17. Blessed with all spiritual blessings in heaven (Eph 1:3)
18. Raised and sitting together in heavenly places (Eph 2:6)
19. Created to be good for others (Eph 2:10)
20. Recipients of God’s purpose and grace  (2Tim 1:9)
21. Beneficiaries of God’s consolation, comfort, and mercy (Phil 2:1)

And all of this together means that those who are “in Christ” through simple faith in him are in the best imaginable position to weather the financial, social and medical storms of life. “In Christ,” we have the assurance of God’s presence and love regardless of our circumstances. “In Christ” we are in the best possible place to hear Jesus say,

“So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Jesus– Matthew 6:31-34 NLT).

Hope this isn’t too long to be a discussion starter for us. The times are so uncertain. Yet this might be one of our best moments to discover or reaffirm what it takes to live without the kind of worry that is consuming so many.

Vote on whether you think this post is something you'll be thinking about:

(+64 rating, 65 votes)

Loading...