Be Anxious For Nothing?

About a week ago, as I write this blog, marks the longest I’ve been out of our home in almost 4 months. I spent the day in a waiting room waiting for my husband to come out of surgery.

As I sat there in the waiting room, listening to the constant news blasting from the TV screen, I looked around the room and I saw printed paper signs taped onto the backs of the chairs, over half of them. “Do not sit in this chair due to social distancing, “ I watched the receptionist and workers as they swarmed like busy masked bees. The counter where the typical complimentary snacks and drinks use to be, was bare. The counter in front of the receptionist had a makeshift plastic shield in place. Just to get into the front office door, my husband and I both had to have our temperatures taken. As we checked in, we were both cautious about holding the pen used to sign the paperwork and handling the credit card used for payment. We cautiously wiped our hands with an antibiotic wipe and then followed that up with an antibiotic jell wash, which by the way, we now carry as an everyday necessity, along with gloves and masks. I cannot help but feel anxious.

One cannot even pretend not to be anxious during these times. If that wasn’t enough, add the riots, the hatred and fighting in our political world and social media. It’s all around us. The news blasting from the waiting room TV was screaming all of this, plus more. I cannot even comprehend the pain and anger around us.

How can we not be anxious?

Now I am one to take the quote, “Do not Be anxious for anything, give everything to the Lord”, very seriously. And I know God is in control. And I know that all this going on in our world is, unfortunately, inevitable, birth pains.

“For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”
Mark 13:8 HCSB

Does this mean we should give up and hide?
No!
What does God expect us to do?
Rest in Him,
Love others,
Keep our eyes on Him,
Be obedient to His word.
Does God want us to fight back?
Well, yes, but not in the way that tears down.

I pulled out a few scriptures. We hear talk about love and yes we need to love. God is Love! Truth is Love! God is Holy Love!

We all need to see past the shell. Past the feelings. Past the expectations. Past the pride and anger. Past the hate.
When we, all of us, me included, see the root, see the soul, we will see God, truth, real Love.

“If I speak human or angelic languages but do not have love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”
1 Corinthians 13:1 HCSB

If we speak of love as a word or excuse without the real Love that only God has, we do nothing but tear down.

“When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.””
John 8:7 HCSB

When we attempt to take judgment into our own hands we are not showing Gods real Love.

“Don’t criticize one another, brothers. He who criticizes a brother or judges his brother criticizes the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.”
James 4:11 HCSB

“And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”
Ephesians 4:32 HCSB

We live in a world that we condemn our self by what we say, by what we don’t say, by what we do and by what we don’t do. That in itself, without anything else, is enough to make every person anxious.

If I may ask you, the reader to look up these next three scriptures yourself and read each of them. Please read all three. But before you do, please pray for God to open your eyes, heart and mind. These scriptures are for me, you, everyone. Love is not easy. Love is not free. These three scriptures are not my words, but are Gods words. These three scriptures are part of the root that will heal our hearts, souls, land, world. If you read the first verse, it’s so important you read the other two. If you feel these are out of context, then please continue to read before and after the verses. In fact I encourage that.

The meaning of these three verses is what real genuine Love is!!!

Revelation 21:8

2 Chronicles 7:14

John 3:16