Read Luke 12 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
Luke 12:1-56 Chiastic Structure:
And He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you shall eat; nor about the body, what you shall put on. The life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.” Luk 12:22-23
To worry is in Greek, Strong’s G3309, μεριμνάω merimnaō, “to be anxious, to be troubled with cares;” working back from the Septuagint to the Hebrew Root Word, it is Strong’s H1672, דאג da’ag, a primary verb meaning, “to be afraid, to be anxious.” The ancient pictographs are dalet + aleph + gimel.
dalet ד = door, thus enter, move, hang
aleph א = ox head, thus strength, power, leader
gimel ג = foot, thus foot, walk, gather
The parable being told is of the door (dalet) through which someone walks with their feet (gimel). As the door swings back and forth to allow either entrance or egress, so the thoughts of the mind waver to and fro, producing anxiety. That the aleph is in the heart of the word, reveals the strength with which the uncertainty grips the mind.
But let him ask in faith, without doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Jam 1:6-8
It’s all very well to say, “Do not worry,” but then how do we actually accomplish it? Anxiety is an emotion born from a stronghold in the heart, which whispers, “God won’t take care of me.” Yet, it is a lie. Lies can be the foundation of strongholds, strongly-held beliefs, in the heart too. Just as we cannot wrestle darkness out of a room, so we can’t dismantle a stronghold simply by sheer willpower. But we can flip on the light switch, and the darkness with automatically leave. Similarly, we must replace this lie with the opposite stronghold of truth, which states, “God will take care of me,” a truth the Bible teaches.
When we build this stronghold of truth in our heart, it produces the opposite emotions of peace, calmness, clarity, and contentment.
To learn about these things, please see:
Training to Believe and Feel the Truth – Christine Miller
God will Take Care of Me – Christine Miller
Leave a Reply