Luke 12:22-31
And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body what you will put on. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse or barns; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?"And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? If you are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these
"If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown in the oven, how much more will he cloth you, O you of little faith?
"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows you need these things.
"But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."
Our natural self says, "Oh come on. Get real. This not the way the real world works. These are only warm, churchy thoughts that fly in the face of common sense." That's right. Jesus never said anything based on common sense.
Trust God Jn 4:7-11
"A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."Then the woman of Samaria said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."
The Samaritan woman might have been thinking, Jesus, I don’t see how can you help me. I have a practical problem and you don’t have a rope of solution. Even if you had a rope it would be too short to get to the bottom of my problem.
The world views Christ as unrealistic; a dreamer detached from reality and whose instructions for obtaining the abundant life he promised would only work in an ideal world.
Jn 14:27: "My peace I leave with you, not as the world giveth give I unto you." Worldly peace tries to escape and dodge problems, refuses to face difficulties. Worldly peace is all about me. Troubles steal this kind of peace. Satan comes along and says our problem is way too big for God. He tries and is often successful in convincing us that God can’t help us, we’ve got to worry our way out of it. Jesus peace is about keeping our eyes on Him. Each time we trust God and find Him faithful, just as He promised, our own faith grows.
Don’t Worry
My stepmother was chronic worrier. Like so many she seemed inclined to worry rather than ask God to help and then believe that he would. We get so focused on the problem we can become spiritually paralyzed. Worry crowds God out of our lives. It takes away time we should be using to pray and to worship Him. Worry conjures up worst case scenarios and magnifies the problem. Worry is like chewing dried beef; the more it’s chewed the bigger it gets. Worry adversely affects the immune system. We can literally get "worried sick." Excess worry can also lead us into depression. I know that only too well because it happened to me.
Worry is the twin of fear; they support, reinforce and feed on each other. We get false and perverse comfort from worrying by convincing ourselves we are at least doing something to solve the problem. Not to worry might be interpreted as being uncaring. People expect us to worry. They may feel it’s our duty to worry. If you are doing what's right, no matter what the situation, don't be concerned what others think of you.
It’s an indisputable fact that worrying never solved any problem. Worrying is natural; God’s help is supernatural and therein lies the difficulty for the natural man. Learn from past mistakes and move on. We can’t change the past and we don't own the future. Leave the past and the future to God. Live in the Now, confident of God's love and protection.
Don’t Be Afraid
Jn 14:1: "Let not your heart be troubled."
This is not a call for stoicism or a matter of being brave or ratcheting up our courage in difficult times. It's not whistling in a graveyard pretending that nothing is wrong. We will grieve and go through times of sadness. We will be wounded; most likely more than once.Jesus’ peace conquers fear and nothing can take His peace from us. What is it that we fear? Death? Terminal illness? Loss of a loved one? What? One of these will certainly happen and we are vulnerable to many others. We can prepare to meet, with confidence, anything that comes our way. How? If we settle in our hearts that God is our source we can face any difficulty with assurance of His presence.
2Tim 7: "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind."
God Will Provide
Cor 2:9: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things God has prepared for those who love him." Those "things" have already been prepared and God is waiting for us to ask for them. Lk 11:9: "Ask and it shall be given to you, Seek and you shall find , Knock and it will be opened. to you." Loving God is key. In Hosea 6:6: God says, "I want your love, not your sacrifices."
The very notion that God will provide for his children has long been ridiculed by non-believers. This is not "pie in the sky." Nor is it manna on the ground. Jesus promised us abundant life; not a problem-free life.
Where ever we are in our walk with Jesus He always has more for us. Ask for the more. Search for the more. Learn what it is. Pray; Study the Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes.
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