I don't know about you, but my life is a little scary. I have the issues that I came to DS to help me deal with plus all of this other stuff too. I wrote this study Tuesday morning at work with Monday's 11:30PM news statistics. In the past 2 and 1/2 days, the news is worse. I can't speak for members of DS in other parts of the world but the economic turmoil has many Americans frightened. I live in an area that is heavily dependent on the automotive industry. Our largest employers are Jeep, Chrysler and GM. Our unemployment rate is up to 15% and that is only the people receiving benefits. For many, unemployment compensation either never existed or ran out. There are close to 40,000 people out of work. GM may go bankrupt. Every business is affected. There is a lot of need here and I know Ohio is not alone.

What do we do? It is a scary world and sometimes God feels like he is far away. This is our human understanding of the situation which is false. God is aware, he is concerned, and he is a source of strength and encouragement. I believe that the theme of this scripture is that worry is a waste of time and and lack of fiath in a God who loves us. So into the scriptures.

In Matthew Chapter 6 verses 25-34 Jesus said:
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat of drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life.
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given unto you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

At first glance it looks like Jesus is saying "Don't worry, be happy" but he is going much deeper. I''m worth more than grass or birds to God. How do I know this? He told me!

In Psalm 139:1 through 4 David describes just how well God knows me and you.
O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar,
You discerm my going out and my lying down,
you are familiar with all of my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.

I have pondered Psalm 139:13 and 14 for hours as I think and pray for my granddaughter, Kylie
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb,
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

David continues this thought in verses 15 through18
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth
Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, O God
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with you.

I know that I do not deserve all this divine attention but it is a part of the gift of God's grace. God does this becuase he loves us. We are important to him. He knows how many hairs are on your head! We are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, his precious creations!

We need to seek him first, let him be the highest priority in our lives, but that can be so hard. There are so many things in the world and in our lives that demands our attention. We have so many responsibilities and they are important also. God knows that. Jesus has felt everything that we have felt. They understand.

In my personal experience, the closer I come to living in the way that God wants me to live, the better my life works. When I stray from this path, I run into problems. That doesn't mean my life always runs smoothly or that I don't have problems. I do, same as anybody else. If you have followed my journals, you know that! But if I am right with God, I get what I need in order to continue, to cope, to get through, to do the work that he has given me.

Need is the key word. God knows and supplies our needs, which is frequently different from our wants. He gives us our daily bread, not our daily steak and lobster! :). I am aware of some "supply side evangelists" out there who preach that "If God wants to bless us, then ask big!" Reminds me of a song that was popular when I was a teen "Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz, my friends all drive Porsches I must make amends" God is not a sugar daddy to be used to get material wealth! He is a loving father who wants us to grow, to develop and use our talents and abilities to create a good life for ourselves and the people around us!

Confession time, I am a worrier. My family tells stories of me as a toddler, 2-3 years old, and I worried. Every time I heard a siren I would stop what I was doing and tell them "Somebody's got troubles" But Jesus is right-What good does worrying do? It doesn't change the future. It takes strength and energy that you need to cope with what is happening today.

Jesus also didn't mean to just kick back and let God manage the rest of your life. Faith without works is dead, not a faith at all. God means for us to be busy, furthering His plan in our lives and witnessing to his goodness by our actions. Stewardship is another recurring theme in the Bible. God gave you talents, gifts, everything you have is a blessing from God. My ten year old, reliable Ford Taurus is a blessing from God. People don't turn their heads to watch me drive by like they would if I had a Mercedes or a Porsche, but God wants me to care for this car like it was a Beemer! When you drive a ten year old car, oil changes and preventative maintenance are crucial. These are examples of the stewardship that I should use to manage the blessing that God gave me

OK, we can't kick back and we can't worry, so what can we do? These are the principles that I use to manage my worries. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes I'm not but I have tried to base this on Biblical principles. They work better than anything else I have come up with in the past 53 years so here goes.

Identify the problem. Be aware of what is going on and don't hide from it.
Know my options. We have had money problems lately which are thankfully easing. Even though I didn't have the money at the present time, I had a couple of sources where I could get it. Some of them were good options, some of them weren't. My family got a little bit upset when I wanted to sell my plasma! Make sure that your options are in keeping with Biblical principles. I felt that selling my plasma for gas money was a much better idea than robbing a gas station! :)
Make a plan. I try to have a best plan and one, possibly two back up plans.
Now comes the hard part. You have done everything in your power, set the problem into God's hands. This is where worry is such a hard thing to cope with. You have put your problem in the hands of the Lord and Creator of the Universe so what do you want to do? Snatch it back and worry about it! This makes no sense.

OK, I'm worried, what now? Talk to God. Go to him in prayer. It doesn't have to be flowery or special like something out of the Bible. Talk to him as a friend for that is truly what he wants to be to you. "God, I'm scared, I have this and that going on and I don't know what to do". Tell him and then listen for his answer. It will come. It may come right away, it may come over a couple of days on the radio, in a book, in a dream, in something that you see, but it will come. Trust me, he knows just the right thing to do.

OK, I'm still worried. The Bible says "Be still and know that I am God" I listen to CD's of hymns and sing them in my mind. I study the word. I run my prayer list and pray for all the people that are on my heart. I leash Miss Bear and take her for a long walk. You know how best to cope with your own worries. Do what works for you so that you get to the place where you can be still and know that God has it handled.

In conclusion, we walk in partnership with God. He loves us. He knows what we need. It may not be what we think we need, but he will truly supply those needs. God knows his plans for us and they are "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

I hope that you have enjoyed this study and that it helps you on your road. Please let me know what you think. Blessings and Love, Diane