Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
We live in a day and an age when many people, and even many who even claim to be Christians, who say that they have been ‘born again’ and who are even members of the church, yet they seem to have come to the place where they question the power, and the authority, and the ability of God.
And, even amongst our own clergy, there seem to be some who obviously feel that the God we serve must surely have ‘limitation’s. Allow me to illustrate my reasoning.
Although we may say that “God is able to do abundantly above all that we can even ask or think,” yet we sometimes live and act as if God is not able. We may say that God is ALL Powerful, yet we often seem to question His ability to stop gun violence, shut down the NRA, and shut down racist rants.
We may say that our God is Supreme, yet how often we question His power and authority over sin and Satan to end stealing from seniors. We may say that our God is the One and Only True God, yet we so often seem to be very slow and even reluctant to believe that He can do something about spending more than we make, addiction to shopping online, trying to keep up with the Jones, Smiths, and Johnsons.
We worry about everything…
That there is a pandemic of stress and worry.
There is the stress of mass killings
There is the stress of not having enough money to live
There is the stress of arguing about money matters.
There is the stress of receiving bill collector phone calls.
There is the stress of children not happy with school.
There is the stress of unhappy schoolteachers in schools.
Here are a few suggestions to relieve worry and stress:
Exercise Daily
Go to bed on time.
Spend less and save more.
Delegate tasks to capable others.
Simplify and unclutter your life
Call on the name of Jesus in prayer and petition
Never forsake going to church.
Wake up to do a daily devotion.
Praise God in the pain until problems are solved.
Have full faith in God….
The Rev. Dr. Mark Whitlock is the senior pastor of Reid Temple AME Church in Glenn Dale, Maryland.
