The cares of the world choke the Word until you spend all your time feeding on the cares of the world. You spend all your time meditating on fear and on what could happen in this or that situation. It hasn't even happened yet, but you're worrying about it; you're meditating on what might happen. That's what worry is. Worry is a negative form of meditation.
What does Joshua 1:8 say about meditation? It says if you meditate on the Word day and night, you'll make your way prosperous and have success. Well, guess what happens when you worry on the word of the devil day and night!
When you worry on the word of the devil day and night, you will make yourself prosperous and successful in the things of the devil.
For instance, if you worry that your son will become a drug addict, you'll prosper in that; you'll have good success in that, and pretty soon you'll have a cocaine addict in your household.
Why? You meditated on it. Your son became a drug addict because you engaged in negative meditation, and that fea—the faith of the devil—directed the forces in your heart in the wrong way, and those forces produced results in your life.
Don't Wait
"Well, Brother Dollar, I thought it was just natural to worry. How can you do anything to keep from worrying? I don't think it's possible not to worry." Yes, at the moment it may seem impossible to do anything else except worry, but why is that? It's because you are trying to wait until the last minute to cram the Word in.
Don't wait until the doctor tells you that you're about to die to cram the Word in. Don't wait until you're bombarded with trouble to begin cramming the Word in. Filling your heart with the Word must be a lifestyle so you can live it day by day by day. But most of us walk around with our hearts more filled with the cares of the world than with the Word of God.
The little time we spend in God's Word is causing us to miss out on some valuable things because we don't think we really have to do all that it takes to fill our hearts to the point of overflow. We make up our famous excuses—"Well, you know, God understands."
What God Understands
Oh yes, He understands that you're not going to get what you're believing Him for, because you have not done your part to make it happen. "Well, you know, God understands the reason why I didn't tithe." Yes, He understands that the heavens are closed to you and the devourer will not be rebuked for your sake.
And He understands that it's no wonder your car stays torn up all the time, because you don't give Him the tithe that will give Him permission and position in your life to rebuke the devil and say, "Stop. No more. You can't touch their pipes. You can't touch their car. When the winter storm comes, the tree can't fall on their house."
Now, I'm not saying a tree fell on your house because you were out of position with God. But if you're tithing and doing what you're supposed to do, then regardless of what happens, God has already made a way out. He's already fixed things so they'll work the way they're supposed to work. God has done His part. But you have to do your part. You have to spend more time in the Word than you do in meditating on the cares of the world-most of which you can't do anything about anyway!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishing