O You of Little Faith?
Cast your worries on the Lord and leave them there.
Worry.
I venture to say that you have experience with worry. As I write this inflation is chewing up our budgets. Fuel prices have increased significantly. Shortages at the grocery store cause us to reexamine our purchases. Perhaps you have chosen not to attend a fair or festival, or swap-meet, in order to save on fuel use. It may even take most of a day’s wages to fill your fuel tank just to drive to work.
Through a series of recalls, and supply chain disruptions, infant formula is in short supply. Things we are accustomed to purchasing can’t be found on the shelves. Sometimes it feels like we live in a Third World nation. Jesus, still lecturing on the mountain, tells us not to worry. That can be hard.
Matthew 6:25-34
25) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26) Behold the fowls of the air for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?
27) Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit onto his stature?
28) And why do you take thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29) And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30) Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of these things.
33) But seek you first the Kingdom of God, an His Righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
These are a lot of verses just to say don’t worry, be happy. It can also seem to be very simplistic to our human minds not to worry. You need to understand, however, worrying does not change anything. Worrying takes a significant toll on the human mind, and body.
25) […] Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
How many of us see, consider, then share social media memes about living more simply? The image has a beautiful sunset, or dewdrops on a red rose. There are words in the foreground announcing that by liking or sharing you let your friends know you value a simple life. But, do you really?
Jesus knows we need to eat, and we need clothes to protect us from the elements. What He is warning us about here is being more concerned with those than the relationship you have with Him. He tells us this in verse 33. Get up, walk outside, and look around you. Take a good look at nature and think about what you see.
The birds do not plant, harvest, then store the grains and bugs they eat. The flowers don’t sew their own beautiful colors. Yet the Lord takes care of them.
“That is easy for you to say! You do not know my situation,” you may be thinking.
That is true. I don’t know, but the Lord Jesus does. He tells us to cast our worries on Him. What does that mean? What does it look like?
What it means to cast your worries on the Lord is to say to Him in prayer, or meditation, or silently, “Lord, I just can’t do this on my own. I need you to take this issue and handle it for me.” Then leave it there. The leaving it there becomes the challenge.
Let’s say you are struggling with paying bills. In front of you, on the kitchen table, is a stack you don’t have enough money to pay. Stop what you are doing. Clear your mind and start talking to the Lord. Share with Him your worry that you can’t pay the bills. Tell Him you are giving the worry to Him. Speak with the Lord about any other problems, or good things you want to thank Him for. Pay what bills you can, important ones first, and let the Lord worry about the rest.
You may have to cut back further. You may have to change eating habits. You may have to reach out to a food bank, or shop a thrift store, but you will have food and clothing.
Satan wants nothing more than to separate you from the Lord. Worry will do that. Worry will overwhelm the mind. Worry will keep you from seeing the good things in your everyday life. Worry will negatively affect your health, and relationships. Worry can compound issues by causing you to do nothing, because you don’t know what to do.
Jesus is the friend that never leaves you. He is always there to hear you, and share your troubles. Call on Him. Trust Him.
