You can’t worry and be happy at the same time!

“So don’t worry at all about having enough food and clothing. Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them. But your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well that you need them”
Matthew 6:31-32 TLB

You cannot be happy and worry at the same time. You have to choose which one you want. Jesus told us not to worry (on many occasions) because He knows that worry (stress) will make you sick and can prevent you from fulfilling your purpose and destiny – anxiety paralyzes you. Jesus didn’t say “don’t stress” without a good reason. The reason He said that you shouldn’t stress about provision is that you are not your own provider: He is.

“And it is he who will supply all your needs from his riches in glory because of what Christ Jesus has done for us.”
Philippians 4:19 TLB

A number of scriptures reveal that God is our provider. We do not need to stress and worry about provision because it’s not our responsibility to provide for ourselves or our families. God is our provider (our caregiver) and so we need to trust Him, not in ourselves. We can cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7)! As long as you’re trusting in yourself and your efforts to provide, you are not allowing God’s power for provision to be released in your life. I am not saying that you should sit back and be lazy – no! God calls us to work and add value to society through using our gifts and abilities, and this is how He primarily provides for us – so we trust Him to bring us business and increase our efforts. But our faith (trust) must be in His ability to provide, not in our efforts to provide. You would do well to remember that God is not limited by your salary. He can provide for you in many other ways, too.

God is not limited by the economy, and so we shouldn’t look to what the economy is doing and base our faith for provision on what is happening in the financial climate around us. God is bigger than the economy and He doesn’t provide for us according to the economy; He provides for us according to His “riches in glory”.  Things are not tight for God. He isn’t counting every last cent and trying to figure out how things are going to work out. His “riches in glory” far, far, far outweigh any need you may have. God’s economy is not affected by the world’s problems.
 
It’s easy for us to get into fear and worry if we’re focused on the wrong things. Many people fear how their needs will be met because of a bad economy or layoffs. But God isn’t limited by what man is limited by – He uses His resources in glory to meet our needs. There is absolutely no shortage in heaven. Don’t focus on the little or the lack that you see; focus on the limitless supply that we have in Christ because of His unconditional love and grace.