I had been waiting for an important document to come in through the mail. I checked the mailbox expectantly, but it was empty.
Fear and dread set in when I noticed a small but significant error on a supporting document. OH NO. My stomach churned when I thought about the extra steps, resources, and energy it would take to resolve it. No wonder the letter hadn't come in. UGH. I stopped checking my mailbox. There was no way the awaited document was coming in now.
Finally, I gathered up the energy and courage to call the organization that would be sending the letter. "You need to check your mailbox!" the representative said. "We sent it out weeks ago!" DOH. And the error? "What error? It's correct." What a relief!
This week, the Bible story that we're sharing in our classes is from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. Jesus teaches his disciples an important lesson: DO NOT WORRY.
“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?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 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."
The temptation to worry and fret can be constant. After all, we live in a material world, with real physical needs for food, clothes, shelter, transportation, etc. We are advised to think about physical needs not just for today, but also for the many tomorrows of retirement. Yet the promise here is that God will take care of us as we seek first His kingdom, just as he feeds the birds and clothes the flowers of the field.
Beware of allowing worry to overtake the good seed planted in your heart.
For me, the weeks of worry was an exercise in futility, a waste. God had already given me what I sought. I just needed to walk in faith and look for His provision. In my mailbox. Thank You, Father.
Fear and dread set in when I noticed a small but significant error on a supporting document. OH NO. My stomach churned when I thought about the extra steps, resources, and energy it would take to resolve it. No wonder the letter hadn't come in. UGH. I stopped checking my mailbox. There was no way the awaited document was coming in now.
Finally, I gathered up the energy and courage to call the organization that would be sending the letter. "You need to check your mailbox!" the representative said. "We sent it out weeks ago!" DOH. And the error? "What error? It's correct." What a relief!
This week, the Bible story that we're sharing in our classes is from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. Jesus teaches his disciples an important lesson: DO NOT WORRY.
“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?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 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."
The temptation to worry and fret can be constant. After all, we live in a material world, with real physical needs for food, clothes, shelter, transportation, etc. We are advised to think about physical needs not just for today, but also for the many tomorrows of retirement. Yet the promise here is that God will take care of us as we seek first His kingdom, just as he feeds the birds and clothes the flowers of the field.
Beware of allowing worry to overtake the good seed planted in your heart.
For me, the weeks of worry was an exercise in futility, a waste. God had already given me what I sought. I just needed to walk in faith and look for His provision. In my mailbox. Thank You, Father.