How Are We Different from the World? (Part 1)

Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4: 6 (NIV)
Scripture: Philippians 4

In the previous devotion, we discussed the patterns of the world and how we are called to be different. But how do we actually do that? This devotion, the next in the What It Means to Be a Believer series, discusses inward ways believers are different from those with a worldview.

Nuggets

To be different from the world, believers need to replace worry with faith – faith that God has us.
God wants us to trust in Him, rather than be suspicious.
Instead of being sorrowful, God wants us to enjoy life.

To read devotions in the What It Means to Be a Believer series, click the appropriate button below.

In the last devotion, we discussed what the patterns of the world looks like. Believers are called to be different. But what does that mean? How do we do that?

Replace Worry with Faith

We need to replace our worry with faith — the faith that, no matter the situation or outcome, God has us.

Luke 12: 22-33 and Matthew 6:25-34 tell basically the same sermon. It perfectly tells us how to replace our anxieties with faith in God’s provision. If we put them together, we get something like this:

“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?” (Mt. 6: 25 NKJV).

“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?” (Mt. 6: 26-27 NKJV). “If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?” (Lk. 12: 26 NKJV).

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Mt. 6: 28-29 NKJV). “If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Lk. 12: 28 NKJV).

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’” (Mt. 6: 31 NKJV). “For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things” (Lk. 12: 30 NKJV).

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Mt. 6: 33 NKJV). “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Mt. 6: 34 NKJV).

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Lk. 12: 32 NKJV).

Paul put it this way. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4: 6-7 NIV). We have to trust that God has this and accept the peace that He gives.

Mark 10: 52 says, “‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road” (NIV). It is easy to just equate that to physical healing. But let’s expand that.

Does God give us what we ask because we ask in faith? “Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.” (Mk. 11: 24 CEV). Yep, if we are asking in His will.

Does God give us salvation and eternal life because we ask in faith? First Peter 1: 21 says, “Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.” (NLT). So, the answer to the question is yep.

The key is that we ask in faith. We have to believe God provides what we need when we ask in His Will.

Replace Suspicion with Trust

We can be so suspicious at times. The worldview programs us to question everything. We can’t take things at face value. We have to determine the motivation and intent.

God just wants us to trust Him. “Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant” (II Sam. 7: 28 NIV). We know that we can.

God has proven that He is trustworthy. Psalm 9: 10 says, “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (ESV). Past experiences show that He will act in our best interests.

One reason God is trustworthy is His unfailing love. “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation” (Ps. 13: 5 NIV). We know that — however He interacts with us — it is based on His love for us.

The problem is that the worldview thinks God should either interact with them based on their wants and desires — or leave them alone entirely.

God says that believers are not of this world (Jn. 17: 16). We are to be preparing for our life with Him.

To read How Are We to be In the World But Not Of the World, click the button below.

Replace Sorrow with Joy

There is so much in our lives that can cause us sorrow — broken dreams, broken relationships — just plain broken us.

God doesn’t want us to be sorrowful. He wants us to enjoy life.

To read God Wants Us to Enjoy Life, click the button below.

We are supposed to reflect God’s love, including His love of life. We are supposed to bloom where God plants us and be content.

Yes, we will still have sorrow, especially grief. But “God blesses those people who grieve. They will find comfort! (Mt. 5: 4 CEV).

God will comfort us when we get down. “The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope” (Ps. 34: 18 CEV). He will heal us (Ps. 147: 3).

Some people think boundaries and rules are bad things. The opposite is true. “The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living” (Ps. 19: 8 NLT).

God is the giver of joy. “I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High” (Ps. 9: 2 NLT). We are supposed to tap into this joy even during the rough times (Jas. 1: 2-3).

Making the Connections

When we have faith, trust, and joy — even in all of our trials — we have His peace. One reason we are different from the world is because we have access to His peace.

When I was younger, every once in a while, I would have these episodes where I would lose feeling on one side of my body. My arm would go numb. My leg would go numb. It would affect my speech.

My doctor had no idea what it was. He sent me down to a specialist in St. Louis.

That doctor thought I had a blood clot. He thought I might now live until the weekend.

I didn’t have a blood clot. He wasn’t able to figure out what I had.

A couple of years later, when I went to church camp, God gave me this verse: “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” (Jn. 14: 27 KJV). God was telling me that He had me.

(I was diagnosed years later with migraine headaches. Does anyone else see the irony? They thought I was going to die of a headache. Apt? Yes, I’ve gotten a chuckle out of that over the years.)

We have to not look to the world for our peace and joy. We shouldn’t put our faith and trust into it. We need to look to God.

How Do We Apply This?

We have to decide to have faith, to trust, and to respond in joy. No, it’s not easy at times. Satan will do everything in his power to take those away from us. But when we choose faith, trust, and joy, we get God’s peace.

The world will look at us like we have a screw loose when we don’t respond in anger. When we don’t give into depression. When we don’t sport our sad face.

The problem is, sometimes, we must make split decisions. We aren’t given time to consider. We aren’t given time to think things through. We aren’t given time to ask ourselves, “what would Jesus do?”

Think about it, though, that makes our responses the real us. Our character is responding, not our intellect.

We don’t have time to think about what looks best. We can’t think about the ramifications of our response. We go with our gut.

Oh, I love that. I just had an autocorrect war. My iPad changed gut to God.

That is my point. We have to hear, read, pray, study, meditate, and memorize beforehand so that, when the situation presents itself, we can respond the way God wants us to respond. We have to go with God.

To read Has God Provided Everything We Need?, click the button below.

No, it is not easy, but it is a choice. We make it our lifestyle. We need to choose God.

And that is just the innards stuff. In the next devotion, we will explore the outward stuff.

Father. This world is not as You created it to be. The worldview tells us we should not rely on You. It tells us Your laws are not relevant today and that You do not love us because You call us to follow Your laws and commandments. This world is wrong. Your ways are better than ours. Help us to be so grounded in You that, when trials and tastings arise, we automatically respond in Your way. When we do have time to think things through, may we always choose You. Amen.

What do you think? Replacing worry with faith, suspicion with trust, and sorrow with joy. Can you think of any other inward things we need to replace to be different from the world?

Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.

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