Why are people so anxious? Why does God need to test our hearts and thoughts? The tests in life are real-life situations of finances, marriage, future, career, Jobs, scary situations, etc.
Because in the end, it is to bring us to peace. Anxiousness is not a path toward God.
Psalms 139:23 -24 TPT “God, I invite your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares.”
24 “See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to your glorious, everlasting way— the path that brings me back to You.”
Many people, including Christians, are not led by faith but by their emotions and feelings. This is why they are all over the place. We jump to the next fad, trend, word, other people’s opinion, or new thing. We tend to jump on any bandwagon that looks good. We do not want to be left behind. We all tend to be led by the things we see that look “good.” This is the bad habit learned from the Garden of Eden. All of us need to slow down, learn to bake, and be patient with the things we have cultivated. Many people have not waited long enough to achieve a breakthrough or a harvest. We want to be thankful when the harvest arrives, but faith requires us to be thankful in the midst of the process and for what is already given.
The remedy for anxiousness is to be grateful and thankful rather than comparing, competing, worrying, looking at your personal lack, and seeing what others have that you don’t. They are all signs of impatience and lack of trust.
You must be content and know the Lord is God and your Shepherd, and you shall not want.
Psalms 23 is saying, the Lord is more than enough, and you shall not want more than Him, and therefore you do not lack.
All the promises of God will not return void if we stay in His presence without wanting or worrying about other things to the point of bringing us anxiety.
Additional Comments:
If all you do is worry, then that becomes your prophecy, and then that becomes your life. According to your faith, let it be so
Even if your situation appears to be dire or scary, you need to learn to be thankful, knowing that you are being tested. But even if the situation comes because of your own bad decision, you need to be thankful for the good things that are occurring.
But at the same time, you cannot expect God to answer your prayers if we are decreasing our church attendance, cheating, looking at things we should not be, missing our tithes, not reading and praying, not obeying, and just worrying and being grumpy.
Senior Pastor Steve Kim