Scripture
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6:31-34
Observation
What’s been dominating your thoughts recently? Jesus is contrasting followers of faith with those who follow the lead of fear. Notice, Jesus doesn’t say subtract, He also says add. Subtract the worry by adding in prayer. What we look at we look like so Jesus tells us to first look up to The Father. “What will we eat” gets replaced with “Give us this day our daily bread.” Then, He turns that worry into action., “When you fast…”. If lack of food is no longer a worry, then giving up food becomes a spiritual discipline Then, Jesus says look around. The proof that our Father hears us is all around us. “What will we wear” gets replaced with “Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing,”. Then, He tuns that worry into action, “When you give to the needy…” If lack of clothing is no longer a worry, then giving clothing to those who don’t have any becomes a spiritual discipline. When Jesus dominates our thoughts we begin to think like Him and act like Him and look like Him. In world plagued by the anxiety of tomorrow we walk in the peace of His presence today!
Application
I woke up this morning to my wife telling me the dog was barking. I, of course, was sleeping through it quite nicely, but it was just before four in the morning and this required investigation… my investigation to be specific. So, I threw back the warmth of my covers and came downstairs to find our old 14 year old Shitzu Terrier standing in a puddle of her own pee and poo. Not a great way to wake up. Needless to say, by the time I was done cleaning up the mess I was fully awake and feeling more than a little stressed. So, I opened my computer to make the best use of my extra time and I was greeted by a message from Apple telling my our 2 Terra Bite family plan of storage was almost full. I needed to manage our storage or things would start freezing up and shutting down. I felt like I was about to freeze up and shut down. Instead, I sat down to the timely words of Jesus about turning my worries into prayers and realized He was giving me a storage management strategy. We can trace every worry back to a fearful focus- a place where we don’t have control. We bring our “not enough” to the God who is more than enough. We bring our problems to the God of our promises through prayer (Phil 4:19). Traffic, grocery shopping, tension at the dinner table, taxes…prayer is one minute pathway to peace…let’s try it now
Prayer
Jesus, thank You for this extra quiet time this morning. Apart from how I woke up You know all the worries I went to sleep with. I’m praying for so many in so many desperate situations and I can’t carry it, but I carry it to You. I’m bringing the source of my anxiety to the source of my peace. My anxiety is affecting those around me and that’s not how I want to live. I look up and I see Your care for me. I look around and begin to care for others. I want You to dominate my thoughts so I let go of all I've been storing that I need to surrender so I can start seeing things the way You see them!
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