What Are You So Worried About?

“Therefore I tell you, do you not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will put on…but seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:25, 33

Since she was very little, my oldest daughter has struggled with worry. From the time she began to talk she would ask questions that revealed that she was worried about something bad happening, or getting sick, or tornadoes, or well, just about anything. Maybe you struggle with worrying too.

Maybe you worry about your schoolwork, or your friends suddenly deciding they don’t like you anymore. Maybe you struggle with worrying that you’re not pretty enough, or that you’ll never get into a good college, or that no one will want to date you. Yeah, we all tell ourselves little things to worry about almost every day, don’t we?

You know what? Jesus knows all about your worry. He knows that we are actually pretty scared, even though we try hard not to let anyone see it.

One day Jesus began to teach his disciples, and do you know what he talked about? He could have talked about all sorts of things, like theology or evangelism or what to do at church, but instead he talked about worrying.

You know why? Because Jesus knows what is in our hearts, and the disciples were just like you and me…they were worried that if they followed Jesus then maybe they wouldn’t have enough to eat, or maybe they wouldn’t have enough money for good clothes. They had some legitimate concerns with this whole “follow Me” deal.

So, Jesus said, “Don’t worry about what you’ll eat, or drink, or what you’ll wear…in fact, don’t worry about tomorrow…look at the birds or even the flowers, they can’t even take care of themselves but I provide for all of them. And you know what? You are much more valuable to me than they are.”

Do you know that Jesus promises to take care of you to the extent that you don’t have to worry? Now, if you’re like me, then that is probably pretty hard to accept. Probably because we are just so used to worrying about everything. But here’s the thing: if anyone has the right to tell you not to worry, it’s Jesus. Why? Because he gave his life for you, you can trust him with yours.

So, how about today instead of listening to the lies that your worries tell you, you listen to Jesus when he says, “You don’t have to worry anymore. I love you and I’ll be sure you have all that you need.”

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