Standing Firm Together - Matthew 6:25-27
By Shawn Watts
Do Not Worry
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
RESPONSE:
One verse I often come to in times of need, of stress, of worry is Matthew 6:25-27. How special are we that our God puts us above all things. All he asks is that we follow him, love him. The love in his words allows us to live freely, not having to worry about small things. Now with these words etched in my soul, I can look the other way when life presents “problems”. If we trust our issues to our Lord, then we simply focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Do we actually “not worry”? I find it is not always easy. We worry about our families health, about jobs, incomes. When you lose a job, do you say “oh no” or “what’s next?” I find myself more and more saying “Lord, lead the way” when life seems to take an unexplained turn. At the heart of it, why worry, as Jesus said. Life is short and only he knows when we will be called home, so use the passion, the love of these words as a reason to live life full speed ahead with little worries.
This also talks to trust, do we trust Jesus? Do we trust him enough to not worry? Not worry about food? Clothing? A roof over our heads? How is this possible? It is possible through the Cross. Through the blood of Christ. When we turn our life, our focus, our being over to him, we make the choice to not worry, to leave any worry we may have with him. When we do that, he promises to be with us always, to comfort us, to provide for us. He promises to love us in all situations and he promises to walk with us, all the way into eternity. Amen!
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2 Comments
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these verses, Shawn. There have been several times in the past 24 hours when I’ve found myself caught up in the tension between worry and trust. It feels at times as though worry is my “default setting,” and trust is something I’m trying to develop. However, when I focus my attention on the Cross rather than on whatever is worrying me, I see God’s love so clearly and know in my heart that I can trust Him completely.
Shawn, thank you so much for this awesome and timely reflection! Life is certainly very challenging and although God does work everything out for our good - the process might be anything but smooth. It is so human to worry about something that is not even in our realm of control. So the Lord provides the option to trust Him, as opposed to worrying about what we cannot control. Easier said than done, so I like what you have learned to say "Lord, lead the way!" Often we have to just put one foot in front of the other believing that God has it all under His loving and merciful control.
I read this little clip from a Wall Street Journal that reports on studies indicating that reflecting on the positive at the end of each day significantly reduces stress. From a born-again Christian perspective I find it helpful to count all of my blessings throughout the day and at the end of each day.