No Worries – Meekness Minimizes Stress
“Therefore I
tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about
your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the
body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single
hour to his life?
“And why do
you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not
labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was
dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more
clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?'
or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
“But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to
you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:25-34)
“Therefore I
tell you….”
Whenever we see a “therefore” in Scripture, it is a good
idea to look and see what the “therefore” is there for!
In this case, it is there because Jesus is linking the
text that follows (don’t worry) with the verse that came before (make God your
master). The relationship between the two is obvious: God is your master so you
don’t have to worry!
Got it. Enough said. Case closed. Devotional done. Let’s
go on to the next thing.
I wish it were that simple! And maybe it is, but for some
reason a lot of us can’t quite seem to just take it at face value and rest in
it. We worry about our life – should I do this or that, take this job or move
over there, what if a disaster strikes or the stock market crashes or our country
goes to war and we lose – the things that worry us are manifold. But the
solution to all that stress is singular – God is our Master and He will take
care of us. Ask Him what you should do in every situation and He will lead you.
Involve Him in your daily life as well as the major decisions and you will not
only be provided for but you will stay close to Him.
After all, He knows what you need before you tell Him
what you need. He doesn’t need you to tell Him what you need for His sake, as
if He didn’t know, but you need to tell Him for your sake, because as you tell
Him and He provides it, it builds relationship between the two of you and it builds
up your faith in Him.
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for your Master loves you
and you are very valuable to Him. He takes good care of the sparrows and the
flowers and all creation, how much more will He take care of you! He died on
the cross for you; He intervened in your life to open your eyes and bring you
to salvation; He is continually sanctifying you, making you holy and set apart
for His purposes. He is at work in your life in ways you may not yet
understand, and there are far more important things in life than the food that
we eat or the clothes that we wear or the shelter that we live in.
And yet so often that is what we focus on – what will I
have for lunch? Which restaurant should we go to tonight? What movie should we
watch? Which suit or which dress should I wear? Can I buy a better house and
upgrade my furniture? And what about that new car that parks itself, I have to
have one of those!
We stress out over the silliest little things in life,
when you think about it. We want this, that, and the other thing, and worry
about it so much that we miss the larger picture of what God wants to do in our
life – to bring us closer to Him, to make us more like Christ, to make us more
loving and more involved in other people’s lives, to open our eyes to the
eternal things that are happening around us rather than fixating on temporal
issues such as food and clothing.
So don’t worry about the little things, says Jesus, for
your heavenly Father knows all about them and will take care of them. Everyone
in the world is running around chasing those things. As for you, and for all of
us who serve God and make Him our Master, seek first his kingdom, seek first to
do His will, and all the other little things will be given to you as well.
Focus on the big things – pleasing God, doing His will,
being close to Him, becoming more like Christ, loving your neighbors and your
coworkers, going about proclaiming God’s kingdom and salvation in Christ Jesus – focus on
these things and all the little things in life will be taken care of. For your
Master is not just a faraway Lord but is also your heavenly Father who loves
you very much and knows what you need better than you do.
So don’t worry about that new pair of shoes and don’t be
dismayed if you don’t get everything you want when you want it. Instead trust
God to provide what you need when you need it and focus on doing the things
that will make an eternal impact.
Or, to put it another way, be meek, just as Jesus was
meek. Spend time with God and develop that inner strength and trust in God that
manifests itself in gentleness and a humble heart. Seek first the kingdom of God
Pray with me: Lord, help
me to be meek as you were meek. Help me to trust you in all things and be
gentle, humble, and stress-free, knowing that You know what I need and will
provide it. Help me not to worry but to trust you as my Master, my Father, and
my Friend. Help me to seek first your kingdom, help me to focus on eternal
things, and trust that everything else, all the little things in life, will be
given to me as well. I want to seek your kingdom and I need your will to be
done in my life, especially in these situations I bring before you now…
For further study, meditate on these Scriptures:
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your
anxiety on him because he cares for you. NIV
Luke 12:22-34 Then Jesus said
to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than
food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or
reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable
you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since
you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor
or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like
one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here
today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you,
O you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink;
do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your
Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be
given to you as well.
"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father
has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the
poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in
heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth
destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” NIV
Please use this blog for
personal devotional use and feel free to share it with friends and family.
However, all publishing rights are reserved. No reproduction or publication of
this blog is permitted without the permission of the author, Pastor Randy
Brockett of New Song
Foursquare Church
in Colorado Springs , Colorado
No comments:
Post a Comment