Article Library

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By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

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Bring Your Worries to God

“Worry about nothing, pray about everything. Now the task is to carry that out. Both are commands. ‘But in everything by prayer, supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’ (Philippians 4:6). He is ultimately the secret of overcoming this in our lives. He is the secret. There isn’t a burden He can’t handle. There isn’t a need He can’t meet. There isn’t a concern on your heart that, first of all, He isn’t already aware of. Before it ever comes into your mind, He knows it altogether, says Psalm 139. ‘Before there is even a thought, You know it all.’ Now, because of that, He says, ‘Bring it to Me. Come to Me with those needs.’ And I challenge every one of us to make a habit of that regularly.”

Don’t Subtract His Presence from Your Crisis

“I worry when I subtract His presence from my crisis. I worry when I subtract prayer from my day. I’ve noticed when my days are with less prayer, those are days with more worry, without exception. A day of more prayer is a day of less worry. Exactly like Philippians 4 teaches. I worry when I subtract perspective from the moment of difficulty. Perspective plays such a major role in our lives. And that makes me doubt. When I add, I get mad. When I subtract, I doubt.”

Which is Longer: Your Prayer or Worry List?

“Tragically, our worry list is often longer than our prayer list, and they ought to be of equal length, matching one another. The worry situation met with a prayer, specific prayer, that says, ‘Lord, this is beyond me. I cannot handle this. I can’t work my way through it.’ And, of course, the marvelous hope and the promise that the peace of God will march century duty around your heart.”

When We Choose Anxiety

“Anxiety highlights the human viewpoint. It strangles God’s viewpoint, and we become fearful. When I get only a horizontal perspective on something, it isn’t long before fear encroaches. And I begin to see things like statistics, trends. I begin to read the signs of the stuff around me, and much of that begins to build fear, and God isn’t the author of fear. Already I have faith choked and fear taking its place.”

Mary Chose the Better Way

“You’re going to find yourself in ministry sometimes just with your fist clenched. You’re going to find people won’t change like you had prayed for them to change, and you poured your life into them, and you’ve done everything but get on your knees before them and beg them to take this seriously. You’ll start thinking things that aren’t true. Like His Word isn’t effective. Or like prayer doesn’t work. Or like the Holy Spirit is not able to handle this situation. All of that is heretical. You know why you do that? Because worry strangles us. Mary chose the thing that was best, and none of that will be taken away from her.”

Additional Resources

First, sign up for our Chuck’s Insights on Ministry email where we bring you his best thoughts on preaching, leadership, and ministry each week. By signing up, you’ll instantly receive a one-page checklist with 20 preaching insights from Chuck. See this page’s sidebar.

Second, check out our new Preach The Word articles and video series on YouTube where we’re teaching Chuck’s best insights on this important calling.

Third, listen to Chuck’s messages to those in ministry through our Seminary Chapels page. For decades, he offered students at Dallas Theological Seminary his best thoughts on church leadership and ministry. Now, we have put them at your fingertips. Also, you can find them through this YouTube playlist we created for you.

Fourth, if you don’t own a copy of Chuck’s book on preaching, Saying It Well, we highly recommend you add it to your library. It’s his preaching memoir that is also like a practical preaching manual. You won’t be able to put it down.

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