Cast anxiety on Him:

1 Peter 5:7

7     casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

     

            Of course, in Philippians, we are told to be anxious for nothing. How hard is that for the average person? If we can’t see the solution coming quickly, we get anxious. We are saying, in a sense, that we don’t trust God to take care of us like He should … or rather, like we want Him to and in the time that we would like for Him to do it in. He says here to cast those anxieties on Him. His shoulders are big enough to carry them.

            There is the story of the little old lady in London during World War II. She would go to the nearby air raid shelter when the sirens blew. One day she stopped coming. Her friends thought that she had been killed or went somewhere else to stay with relatives. Days later, one of them saw her on the street and asked, “Where have you been? We’ve missed you.” “I haven’t been anywhere”, she replied. “When we didn’t see you at the air raid shelter, we thought maybe you had gone to the country to stay with relatives.” “No”, she said, “I’ve been home all this time.” “What do you do when the air raid sirens blow?” her friend asked. “I just stay at home and go to bed.” “Aren’t you afraid?” “No. I read in the Bible that God neither slumbers nor sleeps. I figured there was no sense in both of us staying awake at night!”

            My friend, there’s no sense in Him and us staying awake at night worrying about what may happen! Sure, many times He will want us to do something ourselves in the situation, but He most of all wants us to trust Him to take care of it for us. We can’t hear His instructions when our mind is filled with anxiety about the problem.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Trust in Me, My child. Don’t allow anxiety to take hold of your mind. You cannot walk in My blessings when your thoughts are centered on your problems. You must allow Me to work My way and My will in your life. I will finish the work I’ve started and won’t leave you stranded. I will help you in time of need; in the time of great storm. You are in preparation for the great tribulation that is coming upon the world. You cannot take a stand against great conflict until you are able to trust in Me to stand in the times of lesser ones. Do not be anxious for any thing, but let your mind stay focused on Me, and I will show you the solutions to your problems.”

            31. Whenever I am anxious, I can cast that anxiety on my Father because He truly cares for me. Then He bears the burden instead of me.

More things about our relationship with the Father:

            Comforts in afflictions:

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

3     Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

     4     who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

     5     For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.

     

            Whenever His children go through some sort of distressful situation (it doesn’t have to be as horrible as Hurricane Katrina), God is there to comfort them. It is His comfort, so it has to be the best. Once we have recovered (and that is His plan … not for us to stay down), we can then comfort those around us with that same kind of comfort which He gave to us. He can understand our sufferings because His Son suffered far more than we ever will!

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My heart hears the cries of your heart. Your heaviness is burdensome to you. That is not at all what I desire. My desire is that you be free within your heart and mind. My desire is to take away the pain within you and to replace it with My joy and comfort. Rest your mind and your soul in My peace. Allow Me to comfort you in My own way. Then you will be free to comfort others that are hurting. Sometimes people cannot or will not hear My voice comforting them, but they will listen to you when you do so. Allow Me to work in you and through you to help others.”

            30. God, the Father, comforts me in all my afflictions. He does this so that I may be able to comfort others in their afflictions with that same comfort with which He comforted me.

He is at work in us:

            Perfect till the day of Jesus:

Philippians 1:6

6     For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

     

            God didn’t start something in us and then quit. What He began in us was a good thing. Someone has said that God doesn’t make junk. We are a work in progress … a good work in progress. That means that sometimes we won’t do exactly what we should. But we should be getting better at doing what He wants us to do. He’s not going to stop without finishing the job. He will bring us closer and closer to perfection as we allow Him to. We will become more and more like Jesus.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My child … My desire for you is only the best. What I have started in you, I will finish. When I do something, I do not do it half-way. I will complete My work in you unto perfection. You will be complete. There will be nothing lacking in your life. Trust in Me to do what I said I would do in your life.”

            29. God began a good work in me, and He will perfect it till the day Jesus returns.

Not tempted beyond what we are able:

James 1:13

13     Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

     

1 Corinthians 10:13

13     No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

     

            When temptation comes, and it will, we can know for sure that God didn’t bring it. There is nothing in Him that could possibly yield to temptation. Likewise, He would never tempt us to do wrong. It comes from another source. Yes, sometimes it can come from the devil, but usually there is something inside us that wants what we don’t have. We have a strong desire to obtain it. That desire is kindled or strengthened by the temptation. If we yield, we sin. If we successfully resist, we grow stronger and are able to resist easier the same temptation should it come again. God will always provide a way for us to resist the temptation and to overcome.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "When you walk in your own way, you enter into the realm of the enemy. Temptation has a free reign when you walk outside My Word. I will never tempt you. When you look to the things of the world, you open yourself up to temptation. The enemy loves to make use of your weaknesses. He will bring situations upon you that will tempt you to not follow My Word. I will show you the way to resist his temptations if you will only follow My commands. I will show you how to avoid them and to conquer them. My grace is sufficient to overcome all obstacles and all temptations. Do not give in to them. Resist the enemy and his false values. He will not be able to stand against you, and you will come out victorious.”

            28. God does not tempt me. He will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able to resist, and will provide the means of escape whenever I am faced with temptation.