Day 17- Worrying = Doubt
I think I can thank my mom for my worry-wart
gene she passed along to me. ? My mom could make a
sporting event out of worrying, she’s perfected
it. I used to tease her about this (still do sometimes),
but I realize as I’ve gotten older that I have
quite a bit of this worry-wart syndrome myself.
My husband and I are in an interesting
time in our lives right now, which tends to flair
up that worry-wart side of me. I do speaking engagements
and events every once in a while but spend most of
my time volunteering in one way or another. My husband
just became a statistic when he was laid-off right
after Easter. Through that lay-off we also lost his
company car. We are very fortunate that he was provided
with a nice severance package that gives us a little
time and some friends loaned us an extra car for a
while. We know and trust that God has plans for us,
that He will take care of us, provide for us and direct
us. But there are still moments when fear, worry,
and sometimes panic hit me full on, kind of like I’ve
been punched in the face. It’s a natural response
to feel like you’ve worked so hard and then
get angry that this is your reward. But to look at
life like this would be shortsighted; you would miss
the most important lesson.
I was reading in Matthew chapter 6 today.
The first section I read (verses 19-21) talks about
treasures. It says not to lay up or make a priority
treasures here on earth. They will just rust and decay.
They are things that can be taken away in an instant.
We should lay up our treasures in heaven where they
will not be taken or destroyed. Jesus says that where
our treasure (priority) is, there our heart will be
also. Wow, if that’s not a kick in the pants
to me right now, I’m not sure what is. I’ve
been caught up and concerned with what we have here
and what we need, but all those things I will lose
one day anyway. When we die, we can’t take our
stuff with us. We won’t even need our stuff!
It’s just junk compared to what God has in store
for us. In John 14:1-4 Jesus talks about the place
He is preparing for us. Think about it, Jesus is preparing
a place just for us so that we can be with Him! You
know that place won’t be missing or lacking
anything we need!
Matthew 6:24 just adds to the issues
we have with treasures here on earth. Jesus is saying
that we cannot serve God and wealth at the same time.
We will end up making a choice at some point. It sounds
like we would be wise to look again at verses 19-21.
If we’re going to make a choice at some point
in our lives, I want to choose God and heaven over
my “stuff” here that will one day either
be taken away, destroyed or turn old and rust.
With my worry-wart expertise, verses
25-34 were aimed right at me. The section title in
my Bible is “Do Not Worry”. Hmmm, sounds
convicting already. Verses 25 and 26:
“Therefore I say to you,
do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
what you will drink; nor about your body, what you
will put on. Is not life more than food and the body
more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air,
for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of
more value than they?”
Now, this is Jesus talking here. Jesus
Himself is telling us that God will provide because
we are valuable to Him. He goes on to give another
example of how He takes care of lilies, so how much
more will He take care of us? Jesus asks, by worrying
can you add one hour to your life? Worrying isn’t
going to help us in any way, it just fuels doubt.
By worrying we are essentially saying, “God
I don’t believe You are going to provide for
me like You said You would.” Ouch,
that is more or less what I’m saying when I
start to worry about my situation here on earth. Verses
32-34 sum everything up perfectly:
“For your heavenly Father
knows that you need all these things. But seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble.”
Father,
Thank You so much for giving me a brand new day to
wake up and worship You! Please forgive me for getting
caught up in the things of this world. I’m sorry
I began to worry about our situation and doubt what
You will do. I know You have promised to provide for
us and You are always faithful to Your promises. Lord,
help me to trust You more in our current situation.
I know You are moving in our lives and making big
changes. Those changes are just scary to me sometimes.
But if it grows me closer to You and brings You glory,
Lord, bring on the change! I want to live that I would
glorify Your holy name, not doubt Your every step.
And I see that I’ve been sliding into doubt
a lot lately. Continue to renew my heart in trust
for You, Lord, and Your plans, whatever they may be.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
