I'm reading C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters (again), and the following excerpt grabbed my attention: "Once you have made the World an end, and faith a means, you have almost won your man, and it makes very little difference what kind of worldly end he is pursuing."
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters 34-35 (1996).
"Once you have made the word an end, and faith a means..." How many Christians today - perhaps unknowingly - make faith a means to having the World? "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Philippians 3:8 (English Standard). I'm certainly convicted and guilty.
"Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." Romans 7:24-25 (English Standard).
Anxiety: "Apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill : a state of being anxious." Merriam Webster, Anxiety.
While I wouldn't call myself anxious in the "clinical sense," dwelling on the unknown and "freaking out," so to speak, has been a significant struggle lately. Last night, our small group met and studied 1 Peter 5:5-11:
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility with one another, for 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the god of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:5-11 (English Standard). This passage covers a lot of ground and could take up several publications, but a point that hit home last night was the connection between humility and anxiety. We, as Christians, are to live our lives in utter dependence on Christ, and if we are being anxious, aren't we failing to relinquish control to Him? When I am anxious, it's often over what I can't control but wish I could. It is internal turmoil about what I should do to either fix the problem or avoid a disaster. It is pridefully thinking I am ultimately responsible for the outcome of my life.
Certainly, we are accountable for our decisions, but, as I noted in a July post, God is the one Who ultimately leads us, and who works everything for our good (see Romans 8:28); our duty is to live faithfully for Him, trusting in His promises to sustain us.
So, when we are being anxious, are we, in a sense, not submitting to God and - out of pride - trying to take control of our lives? We are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and cast all of our anxieties on Him because HE CARES FOR US.
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:28-34 (English Standard). If we can trust God for salvation from our sins and for eternal life with Him in heaven, how much more should we trust Him in the "smaller," temporal things such as where to go to school, what career path to take, whom to marry, or even where to live!
Hold fast to Jesus!
Sonia
