Peace Not Worries

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day had enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

 
This morning I read a message that talked about this verse from God’s perspective. There was an acknowledgement of the fact that while this is His command to us He knows it’s a bit beyond our abilities. That made my day!

 During the school year I work in a classroom for children with special needs. Every single day we offer them challenges that, even as we’re planning them, we’re fairly sure they won’t be able to quite get it, at least not right away. It’s an invitation to try, to grow. No one is going to yell at them or discipline them if they conquer it on the first or thirtieth try. What we do is try another approach. We adjust our presentation to aid their success.

Here in this verse, God gives a directive. Do. Not. Worry. It’s so important to Him that we have faith and trust in Him, in His will. Here, He is telling us not to worry. There are several places in Scripture that prop up the command, places where God promises His help and provision. If we truly, through and through believed and had faith that God’s will is best we wouldn’t worry.

The rub comes in when we start to think about the future, as the verse indicates. The “what ifs” of life. I think it is true and precious that God knows that no matter how many times or ways He tells us we don’t have to worry, we shouldn’t worry, we still worry. Does He get angry with us? No! He doesn’t fine-tune us or our circumstances either. He loves us. He answers our worry with peace that passes understanding and with love that neither ends nor fails. (Philippians 4:7, 1 Corinthians 13:8, Hebrews 13:5) God is for us and therefore nothing should dare to come against. True we may lose a battle or two but ultimate victory is God’s and by His grace, ours.

Don’t get me wrong, I worry and frankly, I worry about ridiculous things that really don’t matter or things so enormous I know I can’t do anything about them. That is not what God wants for me or any of us but I know that He understands and loves me through that worry into the next season of confidence. Why? Because God is good and His mercy endures forever.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not Really god, where are you?

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning to noon.”Baal answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps his is deep in thought, or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 1 Kings 18:26b-27 Those who know me would be quick to tell you that I am a bit sarcastic. It’s a quality that I have passed on to my children and even some of my grandchildren. Some days I feel a little guilty. Is that really a quality that God wants to see in me? Certainly that cannot be my go to attitude but there are times that it comes in quite nicely. This morning, reading a totally unrelated verse, I was reminded of this account in the first book of Kings. (It begins at verse 16 and continues to the end of the chapter. I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t and it if you have reread it. It’s great!) In this p
Read more

My Offering

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also love you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. Ephesians 5:1-2 Standing in my kitchen, I was praying that what I was putting together for a friend would convey what I want her to know, that I so deeply appreciate her. As my mind spun around what can I add? What would she really like? Is this enough? I had to laugh. That is so often my prayer, “Lord, I don’t have anything to give. I don’t give enough. What can I possibly do?” and on, and on and…. Well, you get it, I’m sure. May I just say, GOD IS GOOD! (Yes, I know the caps mean I’m shouting. Yes, I am shouting!) While I was preparing my “gift” I was thinking about how often I feel that I don’t do enough, for friends, for family, for my hubby and certainly for God. I had music playing, another pretty typical occurrence. The Third Day song, “Offering” started to play and I started singing along.
Read more

God Only Knows

    Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice! Let you gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7   Anyone who knows me, know that I am very skeptical of anything that presents itself as a formula to get closer to God. It’s as if we have to follow certain steps in a certain order to get His attention or receive His mercy. I am much more an advocate of crying out from the naked, transparent depths of my heart. Trusting that the God who created me and loves me is not checking the order of my steps as I run to Him.           Today I’m going a little bit of a sidestep from that. This morning while praying three phrases came to my mind and heart and immediately I knew they weren’t just for me. Som
Read more