An Hour of Worry Or An Hour of Prayer

Family,

I am excited about our coming together this evening for Bible Study as we continue our journey through the book of Job. I believe that the revelation of the character and nature of God coupled with the sometimes difficult understanding of God in the midst of our suffering is a blessing that we are receiving through this study. I pray that you too will be engaged, involved, and present with us.

This Bible Study opens up something that I think all Christians need to get better at and that is dealing with worry.

As I shared on Sunday from the pulpit, I am a planner and part of the reason why is that I want to minimize the risk of things going wrong.

If we are all honest with ourselves, when our plans fail, we sometimes worry about the "what next" in our lives.

As with all things, God's word has an answer for that.

In Luke 12:25-26, 30-31, Jesus, your confessed Lord and Savior, said,

"And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?...For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you all need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well."

What do you need that you do not have that you can make come to pass by worrying about it?

Again, be honest. The answer is nothing.

For every hour of worry that you sacrifice, you do not enrich or enhance your life. Instead, the worry likely compounds the issue to make things worse not better.

Now, if you would change how you use that time and invest into God through prayer, seeking His face, seeking His favor, seeking His wisdom, seeking His guidance, what do you think would happen?

If worry leads to making things worse, is it possible that prayer just might lead to praise because things get better or at least your attitude towards the challenges you face gets better?

Bobby McFerrin sang "Don't Worry, Be Happy". Good words but there is a clear missing element. How do you go from worry to happy and should happy even be what you want?

If Bobby was to crossover to the Gospel realm, like many secular artists have done, he might amend his song and call it, "Don't Worry, Be At Peace". And, we know that the only way for you to be at peace is to keep your mind staid on God through prayer.

So, whatever you are worrying about right now, I encourage you to stop walking and wailing in weakness and to operate out of the power accessible to you by your relationship with the Most High God through His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, as guided by the promised and received Holy Spirit.

And, if you are to operate in this power, then your hour of worry should be transformed into an hour of prayer.

And, after your hour of prayer, I do believe that you will rise with more power than you are being robbed of by having an hour of worry.

Try it.

What do you have to lose? Maybe you will lose one more thing to worry about.

Hope to see all of you this evening and I encourage you to invite somebody.

Also, keep Family and Friends Weekend in your prayers and on your calendar for you, your family and your friends. It will be a blessed time of food, fellowship, and fun on Saturday and a spirited worship service on Sunday.

Be blessed,

Rev. Cain