The Worries Of This Life And Hour Will Consume You If Your Eyes Are Not On Jesus.

Matthew 6:25/27

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?"

Matthew 24:12/13 “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

I know for a fact that some of you who read this are barely making it by right now. I know that many are worried about bills piling up, groceries feeling like what one spends for Christmas every time you go. That the job market seems dead beyond measure. That we see our media, government (on all sides) and other leaders constantly lying to us every single day... the list is endless on things to worry about, lose sleep over or allow to consume you with anxiety.

Some of us try to find comfort in what sounds like 'voices of reason and integrity', but even they sometimes seem to not understand reality (in my opinion). I get people sending me DM's on social media, text, etc trying to 'convince me' that 'this means that' or 'this is happening' or 'pay attention to this'.

Some of you (like myself) are burned out even on those voices, because they constantly seek to place us in a position of constant anxiety, fear, dread and confusion. I can promise you that not all of them are right, and much of what they say merely comes from their own worldviews. Only the Lord Himself can be trusted (John 14:26, John 16:13).

I am an (unsuccessful) author of many books (still writing even now) who also has a hard past, struggles with on and off crippling depression and even has entire days where the one thought consuming my mind is 'turning out the lights' and trying to find a reason to justify it. And yet, for reasons I will never be able to understand on this side of eternity, God Himself keeps me together and continuing into each new day, even as I see the world I live in racing to the end of the age.

The one thing that inspired me during Covid was to not sit idly by while the world was showing signs of going to 'heck in a handbasket', but to do video devotionals and finally finish my first book and get it published to encourage as many as possible to the simplicity of the Word of God and trusting Him... I still write devotionals, daily, thousands of devotionals at this point.

The reality is that I also know many of you who read this also struggle in similar ways. Things constantly 'creeping in' to try to consume your heart and mind with misery and trying to justify hateful, loathsome and vile thoughts about yourself either because of your past, present failures or seeing no hope for the future. Believers and unbelievers alike suffer daily from something. It is very true when they say that 'the soul is a battlefield'. Every single day we are at war in our minds and hearts with decisions, relationships, the past, present and future. Some of us just want to do the right thing that glorifies God. Many of us want to use our time to glorify God with every waking breath. Some of us want to be with Jesus now and out of such a wicked time. Some of us want to be a poured-out vessel and not care about the things of this life and simply tell the Lord Jesus: "Do with me as You see fit, no matter what it costs me."

The world is upside down right now. It does not take a rocket scientist to say or notice this. Many of us know that things are not 'getting better' as we are being told. There is no coming 'golden age' as we are being promised (not from the world anyways). There is no 'peace and safety' as is constantly being promoted. The follower of Jesus and the one who has taken any real time to study the scriptures with prayer and fasting understands that things are NOT going to get better on this side of eternity.

The 'default' for many will then be bitterness, zoning out, pessimism, consuming thoughts. But this is not what Jesus commands of the saints to do... we have much vital work ahead of us, and much growth needed in our walk as we enter into tribulation, persecution and the reality of martyrdom for many. Each of us who has not died before the Tribulation will face the hardest things never before thought of in our lives. Bitterness is the EASY route, while faithful endurance is the HARD route (Matthew 7:13/14).

My encouragement to the one who reads this is that you would not allow yourself to reach 'empty'. Get on your knees daily before the Lord Jesus. Pour out your heart, tears, anxieties, things that keep you up at night, the mounting worries of your heart and mind that get you wondering 'how much longer?' and trust His will and Grand Design for all things... we already know where things are headed, and if we know the scriptures, we know what is coming.

Our faith is being tested right now, and it will be tested in the days ahead. We know that Jesus has always been faithful, that God the Father has never failed. That the Holy Spirit was given as a PROMISE and not some 'maybe this will work or not work'. Jesus is going to FINISH THE PERFECT WORK that He has begun in each of us UNTIL THE DAY of His return (Revelation 16:15).

Bring EVERYTHING to the Lord Jesus, whether it be tears, misery, sorrow, numbness, zoning out, anxiety, constant worries or even the dark thoughts of 'not wanting to go on any longer'. You have to bring ALL OF IT to Him, even daily if need be. You have to learn to become a POURED-OUT vessel for His glory in all that we think, say and do. Do not let bitterness consume you, and do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good by coming to His throne and being humbled, refined and prepared for HIS GOOD WORK that HE ALONE will do in you for HIS glory.