 |
| Be still my soul, be still. Wait patiently upon the Lord. Be still my soul, be still. |
While driving home earlier this evening, I caught a glimpse of the sunset over McCullom Lake and pulled into the park to take a better look. I found a nice bench looking out at the vast beauty before me. I soon decided upon, and upgraded to, a better seat in the tree above the bench. As I was hanging in the tree, talking with God and pondering life; geese started to fly in. Hundreds, even thousands of them joined the group in the middle of the lake. Their honking and squawking drown out all the other noises around. It was simply incredible. Matthew 6 was brought to mind; "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?" (Matt 6:26 ESV)
This teaching comes from Jesus during the sermon on the mount. In chapter 6, verses 25-34 He addresses anxiousness.
In 27, He questions the worth of peoples' worrying; "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"
He refers to grass and lilies in a field which God clothes and the birds of the air which God feeds; and He compares their worth to ours. How much more concerned is God with our well-being than that of the geese or the grass?
In verse 32 we get these words of assurance "your heavenly Father knows that you need them all." Wow.
Then, in 33, Jesus give this challenge; "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
In Luke (10:38-42) Jesus is with Mary and Martha. It says that Martha was distracted in all her preparations while Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet listening to Him. Martha was upset that her sister was not helping her and Jesus tells her "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Folks, what are we so anxious about? What worries are weighing on our mind?
Know that the almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, knows what you need! Not only that, but He takes care of the things that are of far less value to Him than you are. Rather than worrying and being distracted, lets focus on the one thing that is necessary-seek God and his kingdom.
"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV). Crossway Bibles 2001.
