Luke 12:22-31
Jesus said to his disciples:
I
tell you not to worry about your life! Don’t worry about having
something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing. Look at
the crows! They don’t plant or harvest, and they don’t have storehouses
or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than
any birds. Can worry make you live longer? If you don’t have power over
small things, why worry about everything else?
Look how the wild
flowers grow! They don’t work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you
that Solomon with all his wealth wasn’t as well clothed as one of these
flowers. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields,
even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won’t he
do even more for you? You have such little faith!
Don’t keep
worrying about having something to eat or drink. Only people who don’t
know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what
you need. But put God’s work first, and these things will be yours as
well.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
My first encounter with this directive from Jesus actually involved the account as recorded in Matthew 6:25-34.
Greg and I were engaged to be married in August 1974, and he was
attending college in Little Rock. I was set to join him there in the
fall. But late in the spring semester, Greg realized that he wanted to
make a change in his major field of study…one that was not offered at
his present university. He broke the news to me and showed me these
verses from his pocket Gideon Bible. And he explained that he was not
worried…that this would all be okay. The move to another university and
city took a lot of work and finagling…but it also was the best plan for
both of us.
Fast forward 13 years, and we once again considered a
life-changing move - one that involved changing careers and cities.
And again, the words of Jesus echoed in our hearts and minds…”don’t
worry about what you will eat, drink or wear. God knows what you need,
and He will see that you are cared for perfectly.” And once again, this
was the best plan for our lives.
I wish I could say that I have
done a perfect job of trusting God with my worries…but none of us can
say this. We are all works in progress. But I do find that it gets a
little easier on any given day…and the times that I worry – and God
shows me how powerful and capable He really is – I am embarrassed and
humbled for doubting this for even one second!
So whatever is
worrying you today, ask God to handle it. Sometimes I simply say, “God,
I cannot fix this, so you’re going to have to do it!” I know fully
well that this was His intention all along. God needs to hear us say
that we understand completely that He is in control…and we are
not. Won’t you ask Him to handle your worries and cares today…and start
trusting Him to meet all of your needs, and more. Isn’t this the
perfect time to get started?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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