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Happy Thanksgiving!
As soon as I walk into my house, I see this sign: “Be Thankful!” Whenever I come in, I see that and remind myself to be thankful.
We often forget to be thankful.
Being thankful is not a natural thing to do. We have to constantly remind ourselves.
Be thankful because God takes care of you. No matter what you may go through, God will take care of you.
No matter how big the challenges may be, there is no challenge too big for you to overcome with God’s help.
So there is nothing for you to worry about. You will be all right because God takes care of you. God will provide you with everything that you need.
That is what our Lord Jesus teaches us in today’s passage.
Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. (Matthew 6:25)
God will take care of you and so don’t worry about anything. You are in God’s good hands.
And yet we worry.
Worrying is ingrained in our existence.
We are so used to worrying that if there is nothing to worry about, we feel strange. And we feel anxious. Why is there nothing to worry about?
So we worry about having nothing to worry about. Worrying is our second nature. It is in our DNA.
It is easy to tell other people not to worry. And we tell them that a lot. But when it comes to ourselves, it is very hard not to worry.
My friends, worrying is a negative energy. It has a negative effect on you.
Worry is about something that didn’t happen yet but it deceives us to think that it is happening right now.
We take what’s in the future and bring it to the present and we suffer. Not very wise.
Corrie Ten Boom, the Christian who helped Jews by hiding them from Germans said,
Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.
Study says that 90% or more of what people worry about never happens.
They say the average person has three to four worries per day, and 91% of those are false alarms.
To those who worry, this is not a good news. Even if there is 1%, we worry. But there is a 9% chance of our worries coming true?
Worry does not have power to change the outcome. Worry does not make our situations any better.
Dalai Lama said,
If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.
Jesus knew that very well.
And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? (Matthew 6:27)
Not only worry is useless but it is also harmful. It paralyzes us. It brings us down. It makes us less effective in dealing with our life.
Worry is not just about our future. It is not just about calculating danger that may come to you. Worry is also created by our bad experiences in the past.
Hurricane Milton swept through Florida, causing so much damages and taking away lives. 2.9 million homes and businesses were in the dark. These people experienced terrible loss.
Dangers and threats may be gone in a few weeks. But dangers and threats did not end at the storm.
They are carved in their minds. So next time when they see rain, they will worry that another storm may come.
Both your future and your past create anxiety within you. And this anxiety takes away smile from the present.
So how do we deal with worries? What should be our attitude?
First, as Jesus said, know that it is useless.
Don’t use it.
Golfers know very well. When you see water, you worry that you may put your ball into the water and you remind yourself not to do that. And you put it into the water.
Not only is it useless, it is harmful.
Worry can hurt your self-confidence, your relationship, your performance, and your well-being.
Second, don’t feel so bad about worrying.
Don’t make a big deal out of it. We all worry. It is not just you. We all do. So don’t blame yourself when you worry.
But don’t let worries control you.
Whatever you worry about, it didn’t happen yet. If it happened, you would not worry. You worry it might happen.
Don’t act as though it already happened. That is letting worry control you.
Third, calm yourself down and exercise your faith.
To me, that is the key. God will help you. Believe that God will help you.
Change the belief system. Rewire your brain with faith in God.
St. Paul gave us many precious lessons.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7)
Memorize these passages and recite them whenever worries trouble you.
My previous church bought a manse and they asked us to live there for a while.
When I went to the house, I saw a little container at the front door. So I opened it and there was a piece of Torah.
The previous owner must have been a Jewish person.
They practiced what God taught them.
Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)
Exercise your faith. Exercise your meditation. Exercise your prayer.
What are you focusing on every day? Where is your mind?
If you focus on your problems, you can never defeat worries.
That’s what Jesus said at the end.
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)
Focus on doing what is good. Focus on God and his will.
Worries will fly away. You will be able to find peace.
Giving thanks for me is to focus on God.
Whenever I give thanks, I think about God and his grace.
God has been so good. I don’t deserve all the good things that I enjoy every day. My life is too imperfect to deserve this kind of abundance.
And yet God has been good to me.
As we reflect last week, what am I that the almighty God is mindful of me.
When we live a life of thanksgiving, worries disappear.
If you worry, do something about it. Do your best with what you can do. What you cannot do, leave it in God’s hands. God will help you.
And for you, DO NOT WORRY, BE THANKFUL.
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