Anxiety. Worry. Stress. Fear. That’s what this life can bring. Often it does. At differing levels for different people on any given day. Life is hard to live sometimes. Adulting is hard to do. It’s not always fun to be an adult. Responsibilities. Bills. Food. Clothes. House. Car. Job. Kids. It can all be overwhelming. We’re not always sure how life is going to go. Tomorrow is a mystery. And the fear of the unknown can eat at us. We can find ourselves in times where we’re not sure what to do or how we’re going to make it. Can all the bills be paid? We need to get groceries. Our the kids okay? What do they need? Are we going to be able to feed them? Clothe them? Is the house falling apart? We have to call the repair man. I’ve got to go to work. I’m really busy. The car needs an oil change. And on top of it all my right pinkie toe hurts. And so anxiety builds and weighs us down.
But if we will stop and listen, we will hear through the chaos the beautiful, powerful voice of our God say, “Be still, and know that I am God. Be still my child. Be still.“ God hasn’t promised to take all our anxieties away. But He has promised to help us overcome them. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious 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: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
So Jesus is telling us that we don’t have to worry about going to the grocery store or the mall to get the things we need, God’s going to take care of everything and it’s all going to be delivered to our doorstep? Of course that’s not what He’s saying. We need food. We need clothes. We have to provide for our needs. It takes time and work. There is stress. There are some uncertainties. But what Jesus is saying is we need to trust God in all of it. We are going to get anxious. We will worry at times. And that’s natural. It’s what we do with it that’s the key. We will either let the anxiety keep us down or we will ask God to pick us up and help us keep going. Jesus said that there is more to this life than food and clothing. There are more important things. If we spend all our time worrying about the cares of life to the neglect of God then we better start worrying about the fires of Hell. God loves us! God cares for us! He wants us to bring our cares and concerns to Him. He will help. He will guide. That is, if we want Him to. Our faith is either going to be in ourselves or in God. We can’t do it on our own. We can only make it with God.
Priority number one is to put God first. Live for God. Seek His kingdom and righteousness before anything else. That is the firm foundation we have to stand on. Then we can deal with everything else with God’s help. As Jesus said, tomorrow has enough trouble. We don’t know what will happen. We can only live one day at a time. So do what you can today. Don’t let the anxiety of today or tomorrow steal what precious time we have. Trust God. Live for God. Let come what may. God is good always. He loves us always. He will be there for us always. Pray without ceasing. Get your strength and understanding from the Bible. Live and let God. Be patient. Be still. Be God’s. Give thanks in all circumstances.
A Cord of Blue 