Dont worry!

I felt that this weeks sermon by Charles (The antidote to anxiety) was especially relevant to our lives. In our busy lives,we are constantly bombarded with worries, especially those that are school related.

I just want to quickly reiterate the key points of his sermon for those who weren't there.

To put it quite simply: we shouldn't be worried or anxious about anything.

• God WILL provide
  "God will supply all that you ever need from his glorious resources in Christ Jesus"
  Philippians 4:19
• PRAYER is the key
  "Don't worry ABOUT ANYTHING; instead PRAY about everything; tell God your needs."
  Philippians 4:6
• And you MUST put Him first place in your life
  "Don't worry at all about having enough food and clothing.. our heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them, and He will give them to you IF you give him first place in your life.."
  Matthew 6:32-33

I know I heard this sermon on Sunday, but the next thing I knew, I was worried and stressing over my exam results that I would get the next day - imagining the worst case scenario.

To be honest, I usually forget about sermons the next day, which was exactly why I was worrying.

So it turned out that the school "forgot" to print out the mid-year results, and everyone was rather angry, and naturally I was too (and even more worried lol). So we had to wait til the next day!

So eventually I got my results for my Psych exam and I initially i thought was great, but I soon found out that essentially everyone got a+. And then I realised that my goal of getting a 45 for psych was probably gone, I was pretty angry, annoyed, worried - you get the point, I wasn't too happy.

Eventually, I got around to telling my friend (Christian friend) about my result, and he said something along the lines of "Don't Worry!!". It was only then that I remembered the sermon that I had heard on Sunday -and then I asked myself, "Why am i worried?".

As Christians, there really shouldn't be the need to be worried, for God has already created plans for us. How ever much we worry, God's plan for us will still be the same - worrying is completely useless.

• Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. Psalms 139:16

Francis Chan's illustrates how we should be living our lives on Earth as a lead up to Eternity - fulfilling the will of God, instead of worrying about money, school etc.. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86dsfBbZfWs, please watch it, and if you have time - watch the billions of other sermons that he has on YouTube - credits to josh :D )

However, that is not to say that we don't put effort into studies or whatever we do, but instead we should try our hardest in everything we do (but of course, don't worry :D ).

• Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord..
  Colossians 3:23

On a side note, if we do happen to feel disappointed or are in a trial, we should reflect upon the fact that God would not permit suffering to occur if it wasn't for our benefit or His glory.

• ... And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
  Romans 5:2-4

I hope everyone has a great week - and remember that we don't need to worry, but instead pray :)