Rejoice is a Command to Us

By Rev. Ernest O'Neill

It's a command in God's word, "Have no anxiety about anything." It's a command from Him. Don't be anxious about anything. Don't worry about anything, not anything. Now if you say to me, "Well, what's the big deal? What's wrong with worrying?" Do you see it's like a dear Father looking down upon you? He has foreseen everything that is going to take place in your life. He has gone along the road of your life and where He has seen a briar that is too big or a nettle that is going to sting you too badly or He has seen a hole in the ground that would kill you if you fell into it, He has filled all those things in. He has made the hole just shallow enough so that you can get out of it. He has cut down the briar so that there's just a little briar that will poke into you a little and will drive you a little closer to Himself.

He's gone along the road of your life and He has prepared it all so that you can bear everything by His grace. Then when He sees you looking down that road and worrying about this and that, He says, "You don't trust Me. You don't trust Me. Do you think that I would let that happen to you? Do you think that I would let that thing destroy you when I love you as I do?" It's an offense against God, loved ones. You see, it's an offense against God.

The reason people murder is they don't trust God to circumvent the difficulty. The only way they can see is to get rid of this human being off the earth. It's a lack of trust in God. The only reason we covet is because we don't trust the Father to provide for us all that we need. Now, it's the same with worry. You worry because you don't trust the Father that He has prepared your way ahead and made things right for you. It's the same sin you see.

So worry is just as much sin as killing. It is. This morning if you say, "Oh, you're driving me in a corner. No, no I do have the right to worry and it's not that bad." Well, you can see yourself it IS that bad. Worrying is an insult to our God. It's an insult to our heavenly Father. When you were a little boy or girl, five years of age, what would happen if your mom ever came across you sitting in your bedroom crying away? She says, "Why are you crying?" You say, "I don't know where my lunch is coming from. I don't know how I am going to get lunch today?"

Your mom would say, "I am going to provide you lunch. I have always provided your lunch. I am going to provide it today." And you say, "No, no, I am afraid you won't." It's just ridiculous. Then if you do that day after day, eventually your mom begins to be deeply hurt. And you know with your dear dad, if you were trying to learn how to swim, your dad was holding your chin for you. If you were trying to learn the bike, you had absolute confidence that he would hold you up. And if you ever showed that you didn't have that confidence, he would say, "Do you think I'd let you fall -- the apple of my eye? Do you think I'd let you fall? I won't let you fall, trust me, just rest in me."

Now, that's why the Lord tells us not to worry about anything because He has everything planned for us. Loved ones, there's a great verse in scripture. I won't even ask you to look it up. I can quote it to you. "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10)