Don't Worry
Have you ever had those words said to you? Don't worry. Easier said that done, huh? If something is troubling you enough to cause you to worry, you can't lay down the worry just because someone tells you to. There has to be some substance behind that statement, something that you can rely on so you can actually quit worrying.
In Matthew 6:25-34 we are told three times, "Do not worry." When God says something more than once, it behooves us to prick up our ears and listen. This is important enough that he says it three time. (Verse 25, verse 31 and verse 34.) We are told not to worry about food, drink, our bodies, clothing and tomorrow. This encompasses many aspects of our every day lives. Basic provision. We need food and drink to keep us alive. Our health. What we are going to put on our body, which I think could represent protection; protection against the elements. And most of all, we are not to worry about tomorrow.
What is the reasoning behind this, the assurance? You can't just tell someone not to worry without offering some sort of solution to their problem. We have the biggest and best assurance of all. Verse 32. Your heavenly Father knows that we have need of these things. Verse 8 of the chapter says, "Do not be like them (the pagans), for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
The creator of the universe and everything in it says, "Do not worry, I know what you need." That puts a different perspective on things. God, who created everything and holds everything together, tells me not to worry. If he is big enough to spread out the milky way, put the stars in place, to put this world into orbit, my every day needs are certainly no problem for him. Some people think that God is so big and so busy that our needs are insignificant to him. But that is not what scripture teaches. This passage says he already knows what we need and he knows it before we even ask.
Could it be that some of the things we worry about are things we don't really need? On the other hand, I believe if something is important to us, God will meet that need too. Some of you have heard the story of my weddings rings that I lost at the bottom of Mission Bay. They were extremely important to me because I had recently lost my husband. In the overall scope of things wedding rings aren't that important. It wasn't a basic need I had for food and shelter, but it was a huge emotional need. When Ben went to look for them God literally told him where they were in that huge body of water. The Lord directed him to the exact spot where my rings were, lying on the sand under five feet of water where they had been all night.
Can God meet your needs? Absolutely!! Will he meet your needs? Most certainly, as you trust him and put your worrying aside. Most of the things we worry about for tomorrow never happen and never were going to happen. The Lord is telling us in this scripture to take one day at a time.
It boggles my mind that our Great Big God is so mindful of us puny human beings. David felt the same way. Psalm 8:3-4. "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? This says it more poetically than I have been saying it. He is so big and powerful and yet he cares for us.
The next time you are tempted to worry, step outside and take a good look at the heavens, the moon and the stars. Then tell yourself, "He cares for ME!" That should stop your worries in their tracks.
Tomorrows Bible Reading - Genesis 7, Matthew 7, Ezra 7, Acts 7
God is good all the time,
2 comments:
Amen!!! This is the word for 2010 - NO WORRIES!1
We touched on this yesterday at community group. If God says not to worry, if He says He is our provider, our Father, our Peace; then why should we worry. Isn't His word infallible?
Good blog Naomi, thank you!
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