What is worry? It is feeling uneasy or troubled about something that may or may not happen or attempting to avoid potential threats. It causes you to have negative thoughts, images and emotions; and it is absolutely worthless. There is not one good thing about worry.

The Lord told us we are not to have a worried heart. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27). That is wonderful indeed, so why do you worry and fret? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his [or her] stature (Matthew 6:27)? No one can.

Abraham worried when God said He was going to destroy Sodom because he did not want the few righteous to die with the wicked. Abraham was related to Lot, and he wanted Lot and his family to get out of Sodom before it was destroyed. Abraham stood yet before the LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner…And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it (Genesis 18:22-28).

Abraham continued to ask God to spare the city for the sake of forty people, then thirty people, twenty and finally ten; and the Lord agreed. However, God did not find even ten righteous, so He destroyed the city. Abraham’s worry did not change God’s plan.

Worry Stunts Your Spiritual Growth

Some people think they are doing a righteous thing by worrying, and it is hard for them to stop; but they are really just prolonging receiving their miracle and anything else they need God to do because He has to wait to do His work for them or through them. I have heard people say, “I have had it so good this past week that I just know something bad is going to happen.” Now, isn’t that ridiculous? Do you find anything about that in the Bible? Some people waste so much time worrying about the bad day to come when the Lord is giving them better days all the time. When you expect bad things to happen, you are just asking the devil to move.

God never worries, so why do you? Does it help you spiritually, physically or mentally? Does it help your testimony? Let us examine each of these things in light of the Word. Regarding your spiritual growth, the Bible says, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever. Amen (II Peter 3:18). That does not say anything about worry.

The Apostle Paul never wrote anything about worry. He told Timothy, his favorite son in the Lord, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15). That does not say rightly dividing the word of worry. The more you know about the Bible, the more the Lord can lead you, guide you, bless you and reward you. When you love the truth in the Word, you will be free. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word (Psalm 119:28). Your soul melts when you are burdened and worried. That is why you must trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5,6). When you put all of your trust in the Lord, you have nothing to worry about; so don’t be cautious about trusting God. He will not direct you down paths of worry when you are trusting in Him with all of your heart. Jesus came to bless us, and He will bless you daily if you will let Him; so do not be afraid to put your trust in the Lord.

Worry comes from leaning on your own understanding about things, and that certainly stunts your spiritual growth. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil (Proverbs 3:7). I do not lean to my own understanding because I wait for the divine will of God, and then I go by it. Whatever it is and whenever it comes, I am ready to move.

Worry Torments Your Body and Mind

What does worry do for you physically? Does it soothe your nerves, lower your blood pressure or help you rest at night? Does it give you a happy heart? A merry heart doeth good like a [good] medicine (Proverbs 17:22). You have to keep your heart full of joy. Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad (Proverbs 12:25). When somebody gives you a good message, it makes your heart glad.

Does worry help you mentally? Your mind is certainly active when you worry, but does worry edify and lift you up? The Bible says, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (II Corinthians 10:5).

God does not want your mind to be tormented with worry; He wants it to be filled with divine love, divine power and divine peace. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee [the great God of the universe] (Isaiah 26:3). No matter how fiercely the storms of life are raging around you, Jesus has a peace to give that no one can explain; so why worry about the storms when you are safe in a place of shelter? You must keep the storms outside and God’s faith inside.

Your imaginations can make you worry, but the thoughts of God give you peace. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Draw on the promises of peace in the Word of God, and His power will keep your heart and mind as you yield to Him. You must let the peace of God have total dominion in your heart. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful (Colossians 3:15).

People who worry do not trust God or want to yield too much of self, so they will not receive much peace. You must turn your mind and your heart over to the Holy Spirit with complete trust in His mighty, keeping power and know that God will take care of you. In that confidence, you will find divine peace; and the peace of God is as strong as God Himself. When you have His peace in your heart, it will bring great power and divine strength that can never be destroyed.

Take On the Mind of Christ

Keeping your mind on the Lord shows that you trust Him; but when you let the devil give you fits of worry and fear, your mind is not stayed on the Lord. The Bible says, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Fear will never give you any of the things mentioned in this verse, and that is one reason why we must have the mind of Christ.

Paul said, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). We can have the same mind that Christ had, but some people do not want to trade in their old mind entirely and take on a new one. When I was saved, I knew I needed a new mind; and I knew the Lord would be able to fellowship with me better when I had it. When you take on the mind of Christ, you will be amazed at the help you will receive.

Finally, does worry help your testimony? Long time therefore abode they [the disciples] speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands (Acts 14:3). The disciples were not worrying because they knew the Lord had promised to use them, and He did use their hands to bring about His signs and wonders.

We are to overcome with our testimony. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death (Revelation 12:11).

Trust God

God holds your future in His hand; so when you worry about tomorrow and try to fix what may or may not happen, you make things worse rather than better. The Bible says, Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:34). Do not think about your lack of possessions or your dwindling food supply because God knows what you need.

When you worry, it is because you are afraid God will not supply your needs; but He promised that He would. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Worry is not trusting God, and it casts a poor reflection on Jesus. Why?—because you are acting as though He is not rich after all and will not be able to take care of you. You must do all you can to seek God’s Kingdom and know that your need will be met when you take the Lord as your supply.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Seek spiritual things, and the Lord will add the material things you need; but He cannot move for you when you are full of worry. Today, most Christians have their spiritual priorities and their material priorities in reverse—they seek the material things of life first; and the last thing they seek is God’s Kingdom of love, peace, joy and supply. The Bible says, For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6). God’s Kingdom holds all the greatness of Heaven for you, so seek the face of God until you know without a doubt that He loves you and that He is working for you.

No Worried Hearts

Worry puts great strain on your body; it causes sicknesses and diseases and robs you of the rest you need. Many people have destroyed themselves with worry and sent themselves to an early grave; so instead of worrying, let God’s promises take it away. Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me (John 14:1). He is saying, “Believe in me; I am the Son of God. I came down from Above, and I am here to help you.”

When the spirit of worry rears its ugly head, don’t look to people; turn to the Word of God and to His promises of peace, love and joy. Embrace those promises and let them bring you to life in God’s love and grace through the power in His divine blood.

Has worry ever blessed you? Some people just look for things to worry about, and they spend much of their life trying to build bridges they will never use. You must wait on the Lord knowing that He promised to see you safely across the dangerous waters of life. When you don’t find a bridge where you think one should be, God can open up the waters for you.

There was no bridge over the Red Sea for the Israelites; and when it appeared that they were trapped on the bank with Pharaoh’s army close behind, fear took them over. But then they heard God’s glorious cry: Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today (Exodus 14:13).

Can you hear that message? Are you listening to the Spirit of the Lord? The Bible says, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith (Revelation 2:7). You must listen to what the Spirit is saying because He always gives you the Word. The Holy Spirit will never go outside the Word of God to direct you. He feeds you the promises of God found in the Word and gives you strength and power through the Word that endures forever.

Approach Trouble God’s Way

When trouble comes, are you a Martha or a Mary? Now it came to pass, as they went, that he [Jesus] entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word (Luke 10:38,39). Mary liked being in that lovely place at the feet of Jesus, but Martha was cumbered about much serving (Luke 10:40).

Have you ever visited someone’s home to talk about Jesus, but the person was so busy serving that they did not want to hear about Him? And [Martha] came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:40-42).

You must take the Word path that Mary took instead of the worry path that Martha took. If you choose to worry continually about something you have no control over, you are forgetting that God is able, that He cares and that He will work all things out for your good. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Do not limit God and bring Him down to the size of a man.

As long as you live on this Earth, you will be faced with troubles and situations that cause fear of the unknown; but that is not a license to worry. You must let troubles draw you closer to the feet of Jesus. Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer (Psalm 4:1). How did the Lord enlarge the Psalmist?—with goodness and mercy. He helped him understand what he needed to know and kept him from listening to what he did not need to know.

Worry makes us lose sight of God and His ability to take care of our situations, and that hinders us. The Bible says, Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee [look out for you]: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved (Psalm 55:22). When the spirit of worry floods in, cast it upon the Lord. Never beg the Lord to take away your worries or wait for Him to ask for them; just follow the instructions in the Word of God, and cast your cares on Him.

You must be aware of God and of His abilities, His care, His mercies, His riches in Glory and His miracles. That is why the Bible says, Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God (Philippians 4:6). This verse opens wide the door to the promises of God.

You do not have to be anxious about anything as you bring your requests to the Lord in a spirit of unwavering trust and thanksgiving because with that kind of spirit, you will meet God; and He will help you, not rebuke you. However, when you are full of worry, you cannot go into the presence of God in prayer the way you should. Worry builds a wall between you and your Lord, so you must always park your worries outside your prayer chamber.

It is foolish to worry about requests the Lord has promised to take care of and even more foolish to worry when you have nothing to worry about. Holding on to needless burdens simply means you are not trusting God to do what He has promised. The Lord looks on His children who are full of worry in much the same way you would look on a child who is suffering with some terrible disease. God sees worry as a crippling affliction, and He wants to lift it from you.

You must always let circumstances that are out of your control cause you to fall on your knees before the One who is in control of your life, and He will put everything in place. And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God (Ezra 9:5). That shows the Lord you are waiting on Him and ready for Him to move. Then if your heart agrees with your hands, you have it made.

Unload on Jesus

You must let the Word and the Spirit of the living God lead you away from worry before it destroys you just as God led Lot and his family out of Sodom. Right before the Lord destroyed the city, He sent two angels who represented the Word and the Holy Spirit to lead them out. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city (Genesis 19:15,16).

You have to come out of worry and into rest. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). How many times have you failed to do that when the Lord’s help, humility, trust and full assurance were right there for you? The Lord wants you to hear His invitation through anointed ears because Jesus is your help, strength, goodness and mercy. He is our everything! Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29,30).

Although you are to unload your burdens on the Lord, there is one burden He wants you to carry—the burden for lost souls. Any burden the Lord ordains you to carry brings His blessings and rewards, but the devil seeks to keep you from carrying God’s burden by loading you down with all kinds of troubles and concerns that are of no profit to God and no blessing to you. Those are the burdens you are to cast on the Lord.

Have No Fear

Worry brings fear; but the Bible says, The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid (Psalm 27:1)? Fear will destroy you. Job said, For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me (Job 3:25).

Diseases, troubles, heartaches and despair can come upon people through fear; but with God, you have nothing to fear and nothing to worry about. You must believe as the Psalmist did that the LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower (Psalm 18:2). He is your morning star. I am…the bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16). He is your joy at midnight. For I will turn their mourning into joy (Jeremiah 31:13).

Fear can strike suddenly and keep you from trusting God, but you cannot allow it to stay. You must take it to the Lord and get rid of it. If you go to bed with your worries and fears, they will work on the inside of you while you sleep; and you will wake in the morning worn out and miserable. Instead, you must unload them all on Jesus and let His perfect love cast out all fear. Perfect love casteth out fear (I John 4:18).

Jesus brought divine love, and you can have it. He also said He would always be with you. Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:20). He will never leave you. For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).

Live by Faith

Trusting in the Lord brings faith, and worry is not faith. God cannot work through worry; He works through faith, and faith is a gift from Him to all people. God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith (Romans 12:3). The Bible never tells us that worry is a gift, and it does not come from God. Jesus had given the disciples great faith; but until Pentecost, they did not always use it. That is why the Lord would say, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith (Matthew 8:26)?

Jesus is still giving great faith today. More faith than you could ever use is available to you, but do you use only a tiny bit of it and then wonder why you cannot conquer? God has given you victory over man, the devil, death and anything else that may come your way. God has given you victory over everything. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (I John 5:4).

The Lord said all things are possible if you believe, but you have to keep believing and make no room for doubt. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23). Some of you are up and down with your faith—one day you use it, and the next day you are worried to death. A worried heart is not a faith heart, and you must have nothing less than a faith heart. The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews tells us that the saints of old made it through by faith. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report (Hebrews 11:1,2). They were faithful, and you must be, too; but you cannot be faithful to God with a worried heart. Divine faith will destroy all trouble and worry and let you know that you have nothing to fear because God will see you through and bring you out of everything.

The Lord is your sufficiency. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work (II Corinthians 9:8). God gives you everything you need. His overcoming power is within your reach, and He wants you to use it.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons [or daughters] of God, even to them that believe on his name (John 1:12). Jesus came to make us sons and daughters of God, and we have the same benefits that the very Son of God had when He was here on Earth.

Run Your Race

When you have learned to get rid of your worry, you must run the race the Lord has set before you with patience and joy. But you must first learn to have patience before you can truly have divine joy, and the Bible says many things about patience. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). Now, patience does not come easily. The Bible says, Tribulation worketh patience (Romans 5:3). We have to run our race the way God wants it run, or we will never win.

“Run” means to go in a hurry due to an urgent matter. “Patience” means to remain calm and not be hasty or upset with waiting; to manifest forbearance under strain; to remain steadfast in the face of opposition or adversity. We have to be patient in prayer, fasting and living in the Word of God so we can reach everybody we possibly can. “Race” means to compete or to do battle to reach a goal, and we must run God’s race with patience by holding on to Him and letting go of the world.

We must run by obeying God and His Word in all things and by letting nothing take our eyes off of Jesus. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus starts us on our race; He will guide us to our goal, and He will be there when we reach it.

We must be patient in waiting on the Lord for His timing and His direction. But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). We can never run ahead of God in our own inspiration.

Get Rid of Your Weights

You have to get rid of all works of the flesh. That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts (Ephesians 4:22). For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5). You have to know how to separate the flesh and the Spirit; and if you give a lot of attention to the flesh, you will be in great trouble.

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds (Colossians 3:8,9). You cannot keep your sinful nature, remain full of self and say things that aren’t profitable; and you must never make remarks you would not make to Jesus.

Look again at Hebrews 12:1 which says, Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us. Weights hinder you from reaching your goal, and the Lord can help you get rid of them. Weights can include wrong imaginations, cares of this life and our own opinions and aspirations. Weights can also be battles of the mind, and they wear you down; but you don’t have to have them if you will let the Word and the Spirit flush them out.

By faith, you can lay everything aside to take up your cross and follow hard after the Lord, but some of you have weights that are so much a part of you that you no longer realize they are weights. Such things include self-pity, holding on to hurt feelings and pouting. Those things slow you down because you spend hours trying to deal with them, and you become more concerned with yourself than you are with running God’s race. Paul said, When I became a man, I put away childish things (I Corinthians 13:11). The Lord is getting us ready to leave here, so we must yield to nothing but the Word and never let self get in the way.

Always Acknowledge God

In this race, you have to redeem the time. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). You cannot spend hours and hours with meaningless things that don’t edify and quicken the inner person; you have to get rid of all of that and walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time (Colossians 4:5).

We need to think in God’s wisdom, pray in His wisdom and act out His wisdom; and we can do that because God actually walks inside of us. For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (II Corinthians 6:16).

The great, big God of the universe walks inside of those who are His, but so many people reject Him. The Lord said, I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts (Isaiah 65:2). We have to step back from our own thoughts of how things should be done and take God’s thoughts; and He wants us to fast, pray and live in His presence. This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).

We must take time to acknowledge God in all things. Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah (Psalm 4:4). How do you commune with your heart? The Bible says, Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). Study to be quiet (I Thessalonians 4:11). You have to get quiet in God’s presence to be able to walk with Him, and the Lord has taught me so much when I have been quiet.

You will find that God is always waiting for you to be still and to think deep. O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep (Psalm 92:5). A thought can help you or hurt you, so you must have God’s thoughts.

Let God Lead You

If you do not have the right kind of patience to run your race, you will not win. That is why you must look to Jesus and let Him give you understanding. It is not a race of the world but a race against the flesh, against the shortage of fasting and against many things in your life you may never have thought about. You have to let the Lord lift you out of those things and set your feet on the solid rock, which is Christ Jesus. When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I (Psalm 61:2).

Jesus did not come to condemn us but to show us that we can run like He did. People will say that no one can live free from sin, but the Bible says we can! We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not (I John 5:18).

Some people will lose their temper and say that they can’t control themselves; but if you do that, it means something is wrong with your experience in the Lord. If you want to get back at somebody for doing something against you, that is no good either. The Bride must be spotless before God. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

If you want to be a member of the bridal company, you must also receive the real Holy Ghost baptism that the disciples received on the Day of Pentecost. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4). The real baptism does not include speaking in tongues at will, but so many Pentecostals today believe in it; and God hates it. The Lord told me one day that when people first start speaking in tongues at will, it is just them speaking; but if they continue to do it, demons will take over. I would never dare to talk for the Holy Ghost because that is blasphemy, and that will destroy you.

You must talk about the soon return of the Lord and be anxious for it. Death is cruel, and God never planned for people to die and be buried in the dirt. That is why Jesus came and conquered death. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory (I Corinthians 15:54,55)?

A Joyful Journey

When you run your race with patience and no worries, you will have great joy. Yes, there is an awesome journey ahead of us, and we don’t know all the labor and afflictions that await us; but you must know that you can finish your course with joy just as Paul did.

Toward the end of Paul’s ministry, he was led by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem even though the Holy Spirit let him know that bonds and afflictions awaited him. There came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 21:10-13).

None of those things moved Paul because he said, Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). Paul knew he was going to have it rough in Jerusalem, but he let nothing take him from his mission. His love for Christ and for souls took away His fear of the unknown.

Some of you need more joy, and you can get it by singing your way into the arms of Jesus. Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19). We can learn so much from Paul and the other saints of God who made it through.

Paul did not count his life dear to himself, but he did count it dear for others. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved (II Corinthians 12:15). As a servant of God, I answer people’s calls night and day. They do not all appreciate it, but that doesn’t matter because I don’t do it just for them. I do it because God has given me His gift of love, and I am responsible to use it whether people appreciate it or not.

People don’t understand how I can minister to so many with such kindness and gentleness, but I can do it because of Jesus being in me. Like Paul, I can say, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me (Galatians 2:20). That is why it is so easy for me to serve people. I tell them that faith works and gives good health. I tell them about the love and the power from Heaven that are being sent down daily, and it is all so exciting.

Paul Put God First

Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews (Acts 20:19). Most of the Jews did not appreciate Paul, but he preached the Gospel anyway. And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house (Acts 20:20). Paul did not hold back anything even though he knew he would be beaten, stoned, persecuted and would have to spend months at a time in prison. He knew he was God’s servant and that he was to preach the Gospel and deliver people.

In Philippi, Paul met a girl who had a fortunetelling devil in her; and he knew he had God’s power to set her free. A certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates…And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison (Acts 16:16-20,22,23).

Paul and Silas were thrown into jail because Paul had set the girl free, but that did not take away their joy. At midnight, they started to sing; and then God began to move. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled (Acts 16:25-27).

When the jailor realized what had happened, he was going to commit suicide; but Paul cried out, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here (Acts 16:28). Paul would not let any of the prisoners escape; he wanted everyone to stay for the revival that was about to come. Then he [the jailor] called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved (Acts 16:29,30)? Then Paul ministered to the jailor and his family, and they were all saved.

You cannot let fear take you over and make you run away from God’s power. Through Jesus, you are the master of your life and of any fears you may have; so get off your boat and walk the waters with Him. You can have divine joy; and the devil cannot steal it from you if you use the blood. Then you will amaze people into believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Gave All

Jesus finished His course to the Cross with joy. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). Like Paul, Jesus did not count His life dear unto Himself. He endured the Cross for the joy of seeing you and me saved. We also must run with our eyes on the prize—eternal life in Heaven.

There is a price to pay to run your race, but you must press on. Endure the strain, the battles and the persecutions for the joy set before you lest you faint in your mind; and the Bible says we are not to faint. Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory (Ephesians 3:13).

Jesus lived a selfless life. His concern was for you and me and the whole world, and God gave Him to us. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). When you live a selfless life, you will have great concern for others; and you will have the attitude of Jesus that says, Not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42).

Doing God’s will and living our lives for others to find Jesus is how we will finish our course with joy and win. When you are doing something for God, you should not ask, “What is in it for me?” Learn not to count your own life dear to yourself or you will miss God’s will entirely, and you will never be a happy child of God.

Jesus made Himself of no reputation. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:6,7). What a spirit of humility that was. Jesus was so great in Heaven, yet that Great One came down to this wretched Earth. Doesn’t it make you want to weep?

Paul said, I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). If you are always focused on what troubles may come your way when you are winning souls, then you are still counting your life too dear. You need more of God’s love, and there are oceans of it. A child of God once said, “It is not so much the greatness of our troubles as the littleness of our spirit which makes us complain.” We must have a great spirit of humility when it comes to God and a small spirit of self when it comes to ourselves.

Jesus Did Not Faint

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Galatians 6:9). We will get weary in body at times, but we cannot faint in our minds. Jesus was weary, hungry and thirsty from His journey as He sat at the well in Samaria; but He did not faint. When He saw the woman coming toward Him, He did not count His life dear unto Himself but ministered to the woman; and it started a revival in that city.

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw (John 4:7,9-15).

Jesus continued to minister to the woman; and then she said, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ (John 4:25,26,28,29)?

Jesus was so revived in His body and spirit after ministering to the woman that when the disciples returned from buying food in the city, they thought someone had already given Him some; but Jesus told them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of…My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work (John 4:32,34). Jesus knew He was sent to do His Father’s work, not His work. That is why He said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18).

Deny Self

We must run our race with the joy that comes from denying ourselves and following Jesus. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man [or woman] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me (Matthew 16:24). We must keep self before the Cross and always remember that Jesus died for us on that old, rugged tree.

God’s people must not remain selfish and indifferent to His call to go unto all the world and preach the Gospel. And he [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). We have to take the Gospel to every person we can, and that is why the devil fights God’s children so much; but we must give ourselves for the sake of Christ. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again (Luke 6:38).

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully (II Corinthians 9:6). Sowing bountifully will bring you joy. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalm 126:5,6).

Those who sow bountifully are true soul winners. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30). To be able to bear fruit, you must sit at the feet of Jesus and let Him work through you. Jesus said you would know people by their fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh (Luke 6:44,45).

Jesus is the vine who makes bringing forth spiritual fruit possible. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing (John 15:5). You can’t do anything without Jesus; but with Him, the Bible says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:13). The reason people will say they cannot do something when the Bible says they can is because they are not living in the Word like they should.

Be a Happy Witness

The Bible says, The joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). The Lord puts His promises within your reach, and with great joy you can serve yourself from His table which is loaded down with blessings. When you are filled with the things of the Lord and rejoice in Him, you will delight in telling all who will listen how wonderful it is to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.

You must never defeat your testimony by carrying depressing burdens but some people do just that. Instead of putting away weak thoughts and seeking every day to grow stronger in the joy of the Lord, they hold on to thoughts of oppression, depression, unpleasantness and misery—things that will not bless and help them.

Instead of being a beacon of Heaven’s sunshine to the lost, they are so loaded down with burdens that the joy of the Lord is not flowing from them to others. Then they have a hard time convincing anyone they are a happy child of God. They may claim to be happy inside, but hidden happiness won’t help others one bit. They see only a depressing sight, and most people have so many of their own worries to handle that they do not want to deal with those of others, too.

Sadness and depression push people away from you; but when they see true joy and gladness on your face, they want to know what it is all about. Then the door is open for you to tell them about Jesus; but as long as you have unnecessary burdens, you cannot effectively carry the burden for lost souls that the Lord wants you to carry.

Saved in the Name of Jesus

If you are steeped in worry and trouble and wondering what to do, you need to put your trust in Jesus today. He brought divine love, divine peace, divine wisdom, divine knowledge, divine compassion, divine strength and divine everything to us. You can trust what He brought, and it will last for eternity. The Lord loves you, and He will show you the way to His perfect deliverance and bring you out from under your unnecessary burdens.

If you are unsaved today, it is time to turn your soul over to God. He is the only one who can help you for eternity, and Jesus is your only way into Heaven. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Salvation only comes through the divine, shed blood of Jesus. He said, I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture (John 10:9).

If you have wandered far from Jesus, pray the sinners’ prayer with me now: Oh, God, save my soul! I am so sorry that I have sinned against you, but I have come home; and I will serve you, Lord, for the rest of my life. I believe the blood of Jesus washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, Jesus! Come on in!

If you believe that prayer, you can say, Hallelujah, He has come! Hallelujah, Jesus is mine! Heaven is rejoicing with you because every time a soul is saved, Heaven rejoices just as soul winners here on Earth rejoice.

Now that you are God’s child, start praying, reading the Word and doing some Bible fasting. Those things will help you walk with the Lord in His faith, His love and His life. Jesus said, I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

Be Healed by the Divine Blood

If you are sick and afflicted today, you can be healed. Jesus said, Be not afraid, only believe (Mark 5:36). God’s wonderful gifts of miracles and healings have brought deliverance to multitudes of people. Lepers are cleansed through this Jesus blood ministry, and those with AIDS are delivered. Your child may be dying, but he or she can be healed. Regardless of the disease or affliction you may have—cancer, diabetes, heart trouble or anything else—God is ready to heal you through the blood name of His wonderful Son, Jesus. All the power needed is in that blood name; and the Bible says, With his [Jesus’] stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

Lord, I bring the sick and afflicted to you. Lay a healing hand on them right now. In the all-powerful, blood name of Jesus, we know that there is healing for our bodies. Heal, in the all-powerful, holy name of Jesus! Heal, heal, I pray!

The healing power is now flowing to wipe out diseases and to take care of all deformities. I am not the healer; the Lord is the Healer, and He makes people whole. If you felt the presence of the Lord, decide that is your sign; and watch yourself or your loved one get well.

Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you (II Corinthians 13:11).