Psalm 94:19 - Great Treatment for Anxiety and Worry.
Psalm 94:19 - Great Treatment for Anxiety and Worry.
Psalm 94:19 (NKJV) In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
Psalm 94:19 (HCSB) When I am filled with cares, Your comfort
brings me joy.
Psalm 94:19 (TEV) Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort
me and make me glad.
Psalm 94:19 (NLT) When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave
me renewed hope and cheer.
Psalm 94:19 (GW) When I worried about many things, your assuring
words soothed my soul.
INTRODUCTION
If you've ever been around a cynical person, you know how
maddening such company can be. A cynical outlook on life has two problems:
(1) Negative attitudes are rarely necessary and rarely appreciated.
(2) A cynical outlook makes every situation look bleak, even when it
is not. What cures the cynic?
Psalm 94 has the answer. You'll notice a lot of contemporary
problems here, such as crime and corruption. That's because some things,
namely, human wickedness, never change. But the psalmist did not forget
to look on the bright side.
Today we have technology's mixed blessing of finding out
about events more quickly and in greater detail than ever before. So
much of it, however, is negative news. When negative news fills our
minds, it's hard not to be cynical.
In the first half of Psalm 94, it seems as if the psalmist
could think of nothing but bad news. He saw evil people prospering and
oppressing others (94:3-7), corrupt governments (94:20), and the
condemnation of the innocent (94:21), much like what we see in our world
today. But he had come to realize and take comfort in the fact that God
would not allow evil to continue forever. By the end of the psalm, he
expressed trust in God and a commitment to take responsibility for his
life and to obey God.
The next time you feel overwhelmed by negative news, do what
this psalm writer did: tell God how you feel, declare confidence in
his wisdom and timing, and reaffirm your commitment to follow him.
[The One Year Through the Bible Devotional by Dave Veerman]
COMMENTARY & APPLICATIONS
As you've no doubt discovered, becoming a Christian does not
make your problems go away. But it does give you an Advocate to whom
you can take every concern. The Christians Peter addressed were
facing persecution. They did not know whom they could trust; a friend,
a neighbor, or even a family member could betray them, resulting
in suffering and even death. But Peter had walked with the risen
Christ, and he had personally experienced the love that Jesus had for
His followers. He knew that Christ was in control, capable of
handling every trial and that He wanted to do so as an expression of His
love.
Casting our cares is a choice. It means consciously handing
over our anxiety to Christ and allowing Him to carry the weight of
our problems. At times this is the most difficult part of trusting
God! We don't like turning over the responsibility for our problems.
We have been taught that self-reliance is good and praiseworthy. We
may even enjoy worrying. Yet if we are to be freed from the burden
of our concerns, we must choose to cast them into the strong hands
of our Father.
Peter does not distinguish between little cares and big
cares. God does not differentiate between problems we should handle on
our own and God-sized needs. He asks us to turn them all over to
Him. One of our greatest errors is to assume we can deal with
something ourselves, only to discover that we really can't.
God sees you as His frail child, burdened with a load that
surpasses your strength. He stands prepared to take your load and to carry
it for you. Will you let Him? [Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry
and Richard Blackaby re 1Pe. 5:6, 7]
Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair, giving you
something to do, but never taking you anywhere. Like a hamster in a cage,
you go round and round with a lot of activity and anxiety, but never
making progress. There is a healthy fear that gets us out of danger.
But there is also an unhealthy fear, which leads us into anxiety,
which is a lingering, constant fear that paralyzes us.
If fear is a thunderstorm, Tim Keller says, anxiety is a
constant cold drizzle. And why are we like that? Sometimes it could be a
medical problem, but usually it is pride and self-sufficiency. Constant
worry is "rooted in arrogance that assumes, I know the way my life has
to go, and God's not getting it right."
The main verb in 1 Pet. 5 (a command) is to "humble
yourselves." Whenever there is a verb followed by a participle, (which means
it ends in "ing"), the author is telling you how to accomplish the
command. So here he says the way to humble yourself is by praying your
anxieties. In other words, don't try to vent your worries to people or
suppress them and carry them on your own, but pray them.
So if it is a sign of humility to cast all of our cares on
the Lord, it is conversely a sign of pride when you worry. Worry
denies the care of a sovereign God. One author writes, "Worry is sin
because it denies the wisdom of God; it says that He doesn't know what
He's doing. It denies the love of God; it says He does not care. And
it denies the power of God; it says that He isn't able to deliver
me from whatever is causing me to worry." Worry is practical
atheism. Worry gives you delusions of strength and keeps God from working
on your behalf.
Worship and worry cannot stay in the same heart.
The gospel of Christ says that Christ has carried our
ultimate trouble...paying for our sins...so we can now carry our smaller
anxieties to Him. If He went that far to show us His care and love for us,
will He not care for us in every other way?
http://www.onelivinghope.com/blog/entry/4/ re 1Pe. 5:6, 7
Comfort is a powerful word that means "to strengthen, aid,
encourage, give hope, alleviate grief, lift one's spirit from loneliness or
pain." When Paul wrote on comfort in his second letter to the
Corinthian Christians, he wasn't speaking of it in some hypothetical or
theoretical way. Paul had experienced profound suffering and trouble, and he
had received great comfort and encouragement from God and from God's
people. Paul wanted the believers of that age and all those who followed
to know that their suffering is never in vain. He was conveying the
truth that the comfort we receive is part of God's great plan to
strengthen and help those who are in need. While the source of all comfort
is God himself, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he gives us
the privilege of being conduits of his comfort to those we meet.
Has God brought comfort and hope to you when you were
distressed by waves of trials? Has someone's prayer support lifted you up
in a time of illness or brokenness? God does not intend for that
comfort to stagnate in our hearts once we receive it. He wants us to
dispense it to a hurting world. [Praying Through The Bible By Fuller re
2Co. 1:3, 4]
Let My comforts delight your soul. The world presents you
with a multitude of anxieties - too numerous for you to count.
Everywhere you turn, you see problems and trouble. In the midst of this
mess, look to Me for help. Whisper My Name, "Jesus," thus reactivating
your awareness of My Presence. Your perspective changes dramatically
as My Presence comes onto the screen of your consciousness,
lighting up your worldview. My comforts can soothe your troubled heart
and delight your soul.
If the world were perfect, you would never experience the
pleasure of receiving comfort from Me. Instead of letting problems
discourage you, use them as reminders to seek Me - My Presence, My Peace,
My Love. These invisible realities are available to you any time,
any place, and they provide Joy that no one can take away from you.
So come to Me when you are weary and burdened; I will provide rest
for your soul. (Psa. 94:19; John 16:22; Mat. 11:28, 29) [Jesus Today
by Sarah Young]
ONE LINERS
By themselves, suffering and tribulation have no power to make
men Christ-like. In fact, they make many men morose and bitter. But
God sanctifies tribulation, and those who find in Him grace and
strength to endure have solved one of the great problems of life. [SDA
Bible Commentary]
Our lives are not problems to be solved but journeys to be taken
with Jesus as our friend and finest guide. Henri Nouwen
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT:
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice
Seeking God Video Clip: http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prophecies Decoded Sermon Series:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
