Even though God tells His children to trust and obey Him, they often fail to do so. Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church said the secret to following God is actually pretty simple - trust God one day at a time.
"Not for next week. Not for next year. Not for next month. Just one day at a time," he wrote on his website. Warren said people should look to Bible verses Philippians 4:6 and 8 when it comes to this instruction: "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
Warren then broke down what the verses say one by one. For the instruction "worry about nothing," the pastor said it's very clear worrying is not just a bad habit, but a flat-out sin. Christians should be assured that God keeps His promises, and He will take care of His children.
God also told Christians to "pray about everything" because prayer can change things. Warren added that God loves His children so much that He willingly sent Jesus Christ to die for the world's sins, so there's no other issue too trivial for Him to handle.
Next, Christians are told to thank God in all things. "You don't have to be thankful for bad things in your life. You should never be thankful for evil. You don't have to be thankful for cancer or a car accident or war or abuse. But God says in everything give thanks," said Warren. "Why? Because you know that God's going to take care of you. You know he's going to meet your needs. You know he's going to help you."
And lastly, Warren told Christians to always think about the right things. He said things that are true, honourable and pure won't be found at the movies or on TV. Rather, these will only be found in the Word of God. "You need to read it, study it, memorize it, and fill your mind with it," he said.
