My, Devotion to Him #49
So much time we tend to spend on worry. However, this is not what Christ wants us to do. As you all know worry is a hard thing to combat. I’ve heard countless stories of people worrying and then declaring they are giving it to God, but the next time I see them I hear them worrying about the very thing they said they were giving to God.
We need to look to the Word of God and what Jesus says about worrying. Worrying is stress and can lead to depression and other symptoms that as a Christian you have control over! It is time that we cast our worries in the abyss. We need to let the creator of all things handle it. We need to come to prayer, praise the Lord for who He is, what He has done in our life, talk to Him about what’s on our mind and what we are so worried about, then declare you are giving it to Him, and praise Him for having already answered your prayer.
Jesus came into an unstable and unpredictable world. He’s hung out with fishermen, who had fished all night long and caught nothing to sell. Jesus knew the human heart and the temptations presented by the cares of this life. So he gave his disciples some instruction on worry in.
VERSE PASSAGE: Matthew 6:25-34 “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 than food, and the body more 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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers 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—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 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.” – NIV
First, Jesus says God gave us our human life and our bodies without us even asking. Human life and our physical bodies are incredibly valuable. Our life is much more valuable than the food we put on the table; our body far more valuable than the shirt we put on. If God gave us life, which is so very valuable, will he not give us food, which is of far lesser value? If God gave us these bodies which are fearfully and wonderfully made, will he not give us clothes to cover them? And even further, if God has given us eternal life, will he not provide for our temporal life?
Jesus reminds us that God faithfully provides for animals. Birds don’t sow or reap or store their food in barns—and they don’t fret about whether they’ll have enough for tomorrow or to get through the winter. Yet God feeds them. And Jesus tells us that humans, the crown of God’s creation, the only creatures made in God’s image, are of much more value than birds. If God provides for birds, then surely he’ll provide for those he made in his own image.
Worry does absolutely no good. It won’t bring in money, food, or clothing. Worry only has negative results: it chokes the word of God and distracts us from God. It is unbelief, the opposite of faith. And it leads to more fear and anxiety. And the different scenarios we play out in our minds can’t prevent a single thing from happening. And besides that, most of the things we spend so much time fretting about won’t happen anyway.
Your life and body are far more valuable than any food you eat or clothing you wear. If God gave you life and fearfully created your body, he’ll provide food for that life and covering for that body.
God provides for birds who don’t know enough to plant, reap, and store up for winter. Humans created in God’s image are far more valuable than birds, so he will certainly provide for us. Worry can’t do a thing. It won’t bring in a penny. It can’t put a crust of bread on the table or add 5 minutes to our lives. So don’t worry, trust your heavenly Father who cares for you.
Copyright © 2017 by Jacob D. Olinger
Spirit Warrior Ministry 