Matthew 6:33-34
To be honest, I am one of the world's biggest worriers (not to be confused with warriors, of course).
If it was one thing I was most accomplished at since I was a kid, it was worrying. I worried about grades, what people thought of me, but also about what my grandkids would be like, how I wanted to be buried & what I would do if I became victim to a hurricane. If there was a Noble prize for worrying, I'm sure to have been nominated.
Since I became a follower of Jesus, my worrying had eased substantially. However, an unbelievably unfortunate series of events including fibromyalgia, difficult family circumstances & a significant increased disability to serve has resulted in my old worrying habits sneaking its way back into my life.
What if I continue to get sicker? What if I never get to have a career or have children? What I am never able to serve God? Now if you have these or similar worries/concerns, let me not discourage you too harshly. Some of these are good questions to have. But the question du jour is: should we worry about them?
Jesus' answer, in this passage, is NO!
1. There is no added value by worrying[v27], unless you value extra grey hairs/wrinkles.
None of us can change a circumstance by worrying about it. Me worrying about whether I am going to get worse certainly can't help me get better!
2. God will provide for us!
Jesus, in this passage, compares us to the birds of the air & the lilies of the field. He tells us that the fact that they are surviving and growing beautifully is evidence enough that God provides for them. If he provides for them, how much more will be provide for us, who are his adopted children in Christ! Sometimes, it is so easy to forget that the God of this entire universe is for us, loves us & takes cares of us as our Father. Is he not big enough & good enough to help us survive our darkest days?
3. Each day has enough trouble.
This is absolutely true & perhaps, even more visibly true for those of us who struggle with chronic illness. I don't know about you, but when I wake up each morning, I wonder how I am going to make it through the day. How will I do a good job at work? How will I sustain my energy during the day? There's just no time to think of tomorrow! In fact these days, I'm struggling to make plans even two days in advance.
So how should we act instead, amidst circumstances that would otherwise be worrying?
I tried doing this a couple of weeks ago. I resolved that just for one week, I was not going to pray for my daily needs. For one week, I was going to pray solely for the work God was doing through my church, missionaries,aid organisations. For one week, I was going to pray for my friends who didn't know Jesus & for opportunities to share the gospel with them. To be honest, I could not have picked a worse week to do it. That week, I was pummelled by intense bouts of pain & fatigue. I was just about to resume working & it was a really stressful time. You know what I found? Even though I never prayed for myself, God answered every groaning in my heart. He brought relief when I was falling in pain, strength to endure & my start back at work went relatively smoothly.
Now, please hear me out. I am not saying that we shouldn't pray for our needs. Jesus encourages us later on in this very same gospel to give our concerns & cares to God. But by seeking first His kingdom, not only do we see just how generous & loving our God is but we also are reminded of a very counter-cultural truth: that the world does not really revolve around us.
So next time you are tempted to worry, remind yourself that God has & will provide for you and seek his Kingdom instead, in prayer & action.
T'was grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
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