I find myself dealing with a fair amount of anxiety each passing day. Have I done enough? Have I been a good father? Have I been a good husband? Am I doing well enough in my work?
As I read the questions above that I ask myself, I do not see one that is driven toward my anxiety toward my relationship with the LORD. Do I have anxiety about that relationship? Am I concerned with it? What should I be feeling?
“32I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. 33But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, 34and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. 35I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 (ESV)
Paul lays it out in the verses above. I should be free from anxiety. I should simply devote myself to the Lord. In doing so, I will be free from any anxiety that might rear up. With my focus on pleasing the LORD, I will not allow the world to bother me. I will not have to concern myself with whether or not I am a good father, husband, worker. I am good enough.
I have been given the gift of salvation and with that gift, I am free from the shackles of this world and should only be living for the LORD and my inheritance He provides. I have to free myself from the worry of the day to day and drive myself to “undivided devotion to the Lord”. My purpose is to please the LORD.
What about you, are you worried about your standing in this world? Is your anxiety driven by the standards of those around you? What if you only gave your “undivided devotion to the Lord” and lived your purpose to please Him?
Trevor's Thoughts 