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Don’t Worry

Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling
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"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?"

Matthew 6:25

In the world of Jesus, the majority of people had little more than the bare necessities of life. And these could be easily taken away by war, famine, or disease. No wonder people found it natural to worry.

There are millions of people throughout the world today whose lives aren't terribly different than those who lived in the world of Jesus. Yet most of us in the Western world rarely fret about whether we'll have food or clothing or shelter. Yes, we might fret about rising gas prices and falling home prices, but our basic needs will be met.

Yet we worry. We worry about the things we can impact through our own actions. And we worry about that which is far beyond our control, like global warming or international terrorism. Jesus would urge us not to worry, even as he did centuries ago. The ability not to worry doesn't come from positive circumstances or the apparent power to control our own fate. Rather, freedom from worry comes from trusting God with our whole lives. This doesn't mean our lives will be free from pain. But it does mean that God will work in all things for good. Moreover, we have confidence that we will one day experience the fullness of the new creation when God's kingdom comes in full. In the meantime, Jesus invites us to trust God and to live worry free.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: When do you worry? What parts of life do you find hardest to trust to God? Have you ever experienced the freedom from worry that comes when you put your life in God's hands?

PRAYER: Gracious God, you know I'm a worrier. I've been this way for as long as I can remember. It's something I've surrendered to you probably ten thousand times. Yet still I worry. Forgive me, Lord. But there are times, glorious times, when I am able to trust you and thus relinquish my worry. In these times, I realize how foolish I have been to fret. After all, my life is in your good, gracious, and generous hands. So thank you, Lord, for helping me to trust you more and to worry less.

Today, may I trust you fully with every part of my life. Where I'm holding worry in my heart, may I give it to you. May I live today, and each day, in the confidence of knowing that you care for me more than I care for myself.

Thank you, dear Lord, for being so trustworthy. Amen.

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