31 Jul Upbeat or Beat Up? How to Stay Positive in a Negative World (Part 4)
Jobs! The economy! Our country’s bond credit rating! The national debt! The 2012 election! Gas prices! Gas prices! Gas prices! If you let it, there is a lot to worry about. However, I say there is a lot to be thankful about! It all depends on your focus.
Psalm 3:3 tells us God is the glory and lifter of our head. When God lifts your head, He wants to change your perspective. You see, what gets your attention, gets you! What you continually mind, you’ll eventually find! The children of Israel saw Goliath and said, “He’s too big!” David saw Goliath and said, “He’s too big…to miss!”
One of the devil’s greatest tactics is to get you to focus on what you don’t have. All the way back to the Garden of Eden he has tried to employ this scheme. Many times because of a picture from our Sunday school days, we view the Garden of Eden as just that…a small garden with a few tomato plants and a few trees. However, if you study the Hebrew language you will discover the word “garden” carries the idea more of a “park” with it. There were likely tens of thousands of trees at Adam and Eve’s disposal, but the devil wanted them to focus on the one thing they could not have. If we are not cautious, he will deceive us with that very same tactic.
We have a wonderful marriage, yet the devil tries to trick us into focusing on the few things that aren’t that stellar. We love our church, but the enemy endeavors to place our attention on the few things that aren’t perfect!
Remember this, don’t focus on how far you need to go, focus on how far you’ve come. Don’t focus on what you don’t have, focus on what you do have. Don’t focus on the negative, focus on the positive! Let’s be positive in this negative world!
Over the last several weeks we have shared the following, “Two Wonders of Worry”:
1. Worry is trying to figure out tomorrow, today (Matt. 6:34).
2. Meditation is worry in reverse (Heb. 4:11, Joshua 1:8).
Then we shared with you “Two Ways to Win over Worry”:
1. Replace it (Phil. 4:6-8).
Here the Scripture tells us, “Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Last week we discussed replacing worry with the prayer of faith. This week let’s continue with looking at the word “thanksgiving”. It is the Greek compound word, eucharistos. We get our words “Holy Eucharist” from this. It literally means “all is well because He freely gives.” Over the years we have misplaced our thanksgiving.
Due to a tremendous misunderstanding of the “sovereignty of God” we have thanked God for things He never did. Please allow me to explain. I clearly believe that God is sovereign if you mean the biblical and dictionary meaning of sovereign. God is Chief and in charge. However, while God is in charge, He is not in control. “Pastor Jim, what do you mean He’s not in control?!” Was He in control when you were speeding down the highway last weekend? Was He in control when I was impatient with my wife? Was He in control when you said that mean thing about your pastor last Wednesday…in front of the kids?!
You see, God created us free moral agents in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26) with the power to choose (see Deut. 30:19). Therefore, while God is certainly sovereign and in charge, He has allowed you and me the power of choice. Unfortunately, we end up thanking God for things He never did. Much of this stems from taking Ephesians 5:20 out of context. Here the Bible tells us, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“See Pastor Jim, I knew it, we are supposed to thank God for the car wreck and the cancer and the tragedy!” Let’s take a closer look at the scripture in context. In Ephesians 5:24 the Bible tells us, “Therefore as the church is subject to unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” Now I have a question: should our wife submit to all things period? Should she submit to pornography to spice up the marriage? Should she submit to physical abuse? Of course not! Therefore in context, our wife should not submit to all things period…but all things biblical!
May I submit to you that we are to give thanks in the same way…not for all things period, but for all things biblical. Don’t thank God for something He didn’t do!
If you were on vacation and while you were gone I came over and mowed your lawn, swept your driveway and cleaned out your gutters for you, I’m sure you would be thankful! Three days after you return I receive a thank you note from you, “Hey Pastor Jim, thanks for mowing my lawn, sweeping the driveway, cleaning out my gutters and for killing my dog!” Well I never killed your dog…why are you thanking me for something I didn’t do!
Let’s further bring context to this scripture by comparing scripture with scripture. The Bible tells us, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thes. 5:18). This brings further clarity to Ephesians 5:20 and helps us to understand that you don’t thank God for the car wreck, you thank God in the midst of the car wreck. “Thank you God, I am alive! Thank you Father you are not a car-wrecking, cancer-causing Creator, but a loving, life-giving Lord! Thank you Father that you will restore what the enemy has stolen from me!”
When you make a decision to replace worry with prayer and thanksgiving, the Word of God promises you the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. In Philippians 4:6-7, you gain your peace. Now in verse eight you maintain your peace. In other words, peace will guard your mind but you must guard your peace.
“Pastor, I don’t understand it. I did what you said, I replaced my worry with prayer and thanksgiving, and I gained my peace for a short while, but now I am filled with worry again!” “Well, what did you watch on TV last night?”, I would reply. “Friday the 13th parts 1-7.”
You see, what you think about affects what you perceive even when you don’t think they are having an effect on you. For example, what is crest, tide and a mustang? Most of you would say toothpaste, detergent and a car. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Crest is the top of a wave, tide is the gravitational pull of the moon on the ocean and a mustang is a horse. However, because of years of advertising that was “having no effect on us” we have completely changed how we think about something! Not only must we gain our peace, but we must maintain our peace!
2. Cast it (I Pet. 5:7).
Here the Bible tells us, “Cast all your care on Him for He cares for you.” The Greek word translated “cast” is the word epirhipto and it means “to make a quick toss”. In other words, if I threw you a hot potato, you would make a quick toss away from you with that potato. In this case, we make our quick toss by speaking.
Here comes this worried thought and you can’t stop it from coming, but you can stop it from staying. You literally say, “No, I’m not taking that thought. I cast that on the Lord for He cares for me!” Most of us do a pretty good job with our initial casting, but then we want to sneak a peak at the worry just to see if anything has changed!
Remember this, don’t cast your care and sneak a peak. Cast your care…and leave it there! If you do, you can live positive in this negative world!