Just like the month of December is usually associated with Christmas, the month of October is associated with Halloween. A time of Trick or Treating and scary decorations. What I want to do in October is to take the scary out and preach on Fear Not.
Fear is the triplet sibling of worry and anxiety. They have different names, but the same DNA. They all relate to being fearful about something.
Today we are going to look mostly at worry. If you ask a person that is worried about something, what they are worried about, they usually will reply with this type of expression, “I’m just afraid that…”. Reminding us that fear, worry and anxiety are like triplets. They have different names, but the same DNA.
The German word from which worry comes from literally means to strangle. That is what worry does to us, it strangles the life out of us.
According to a Gallup Poll taken of Americans, about 50% acknowledged dealing with stress and worry about everyday life situations. According to Jesus, in Luke 12, we shouldn’t be worrying, we should have faith, at least a little. Why? Because faith conquers fear.
Let’s look at what Luke 12:22-34 tells us about having faith in God.
- God is conscientious of our needs. (V.30.)
God knows our needs before we even mention them to Him. That’s because He is aware of all our needs of our life. Nothing escapes Him. - God cares about us personally. (V.24.)
God sees you as more valuable than any of His creation. If He cares about the birds, He definitely cares about you. - God is capable of providing all our needs. (V.28.)
God is capable of taking care of all of nature and the Bible tells us in Phil. 4:19 that He will supply all our needs according to His riches. - God considers it a pleasure to provide for us. (V.32.)
The scriptures tells us that it His pleasure to meet our needs. It brings Him joy. It’s not a problem to take care of you.
Fear imprisons us to worry about life, but Faith empowers us to enjoy life. Which do you choose? I choose to fear not, worry not and be anxious for nothing.
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