"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them." Matthew 6:25-29 (The Message)
On Monday morning on my way to work, I discovered a new Christian radio station, 99.9. I don't know who the speaker was, but yesterday and today, on my way to work, I turned on the radio and the message was the very same. Same verses, same person speaking, same message. The verse was Matthew 6:25-29, (though not this version).
So, I chuckled at God and ask,"Are you trying to tell me something?" And I heard back, "No, not really. But I am showing you something so that you can share with others." Fair enough I thought.
You see, where I work, I get confronted with worried voices on the end of a phone call all the time. People come into my office, worried, confused, frustrated. It's a worried time of life. Money, relationships, family, jobs, sickness--we are confronted with it all the time. And with my personality, I want to fix everyone--help make their pain go away--even though I know that is not my place. It's God's.
What brings it into prospective is this--society teaches us to fret, to worry, to try to control everything in your life and we can't. We aren't made to. But the version above puts it so plainly. Out of all the times you have fretted, has it helped give you peace? Has it made the problems go away? I dare say, no--it has only compounded the troubles.
But if you give it all to your Heavenly Father, if you truly give it ALL to Him--Wow! What a release! What a sense of peace. A weight off your shoulders. The sunshine can brilliantly shine in your life again. You can wake up excitedly looking forward to the gift of the new day and all it's promises. And praise your Father for it.
Do you ever see a bird looking worried or a flower looking naked? No. Why? Because they don't even question their welfare--they instinctly know that their Maker is looking out for their best interest. So if them, why not you? God loves all His creations--but He loves you best.
We all worry from time-to-time, it seems like it's a part of our DNA--but don't hang on to it. Not even for a moment. What to do? Pray. God's too busy. Pray. I prayed yesterday and it didn't seem to help. Pray. Pray until you have truly given and left it on the Lord's lap. Then that is when true peace will come. Peace that withstands all understanding.
And intertwining through all of this is faith. Faith in your Heavenly Father's care for you--no matter what your experience with your earthly father has been.
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