Prevailing over Pressure

Sunday 3 June
READ: Matthew 6:25-34
MORE LESSON: Isaiah 26:1-4

Man is naturally worried about many things and this puts him under pressure. There is pressure of what to eat, drink, wear, influence, and all manner of things. These pressures have the potential to make a man constantly remain in the state of worry as opposed to God's plan. In order to prevail over pressure, we will first understand what worry is and how to prevail over it.
Worry is preoccupation with things that may never happen. It has been discovered that 87% of things that people worry about never happen eventually, yet you could have killed yourself with worry. That's why Jesus said take no thought what you will wear, what you will eat, what you will drink, which are the major things that people worry about. It is a rehearsal for the future. When you sit and think, “I will get sick, I will be taken to the hospital….” That's a rehearsal for the future and it kills men. That rehearsal is what will kill you, not the trouble. Worry is the pain of the things you cannot change, and yet those things have not come. It is the pain of what has not happened. Worry is the fear of the unknown. When a man is worried he is afraid of something that has not come; he isn't afraid of what is there right now, he is afraid of what an issue may eventually become.
I have been told that one of the things that kills HIV/AIDS patients is not the virus but the fear and pressure. There is a God in Heaven who heals both wounds and bruises. Isa. 53:5 says …he was wounded… this talks about external pressures, the wound is outside. Then it says ...he was bruised… those are internal pains. If Jesus was both wounded and bruised, one outside and the other inside, it means that His life, death and blood has the solution for both external and internal ailments. So why worry?
I have found that happiness is a choice. You can be hungry and happy. It's a choice. And you have to make that choice yourself. You could be in pain and be positive. If you choose to be happy in pain, all you need to do is keep looking at the other side of your trouble. Someone can be in the same problem as yourself and look old suddenly because age is a matter of the mind. You can be old at 60 or at 20 depending on how you keep your mind free from worry and burden. When people feel bad and you say “Praise the Lord”, people will ask, “What is wrong with you?” Nothing is wrong, you are just prevailing over pressure from worry. You must learn to live above worry if you want to live long. Trust in the Lord, believe and saturate your mind with the Word, not the news. Only the Word of God keeps the mind stable.

Prayer/Action
* Declare that you are delivered from the fear of the unknown.
* Declare you are exempted from the evil of the day.
* Declare your position is joy, health, peace and celebration.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: This sixth month, he that digs a pit for me shall fall into it and he that rolls a stone, upon him shall it fall, in the mighty name of Jesus.