Luke 12:22–25 (ESV)
Do Not Be Anxious
22
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither
sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
I
love my Mom and she was a great mom, but like many people... she worried about a lot of things. She is not the only one in the world that worries about things. I have come to realize that many people are chronic worriers, but you know that when
it comes down to worrying... we all fall to the sin of worrying. Jesus addresses this in today’s reading. I will break this down into several parts. What do you worry about?
Jesus says
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.” Jesus is telling us to not worry about things, but to trust in God to provide. Now this is not saying
to be carefree and irresponsible. We are not to test God and refuse to work, but realize that God gives us jobs and provides us our daily bread. We may want a steak dinner, but we may get Spam. God provides for us, but it may not be exactly
what I want, but it will be what I need. I know when I went to the seminary, I did not like any type of beans other than green beans. When times were lean and we didn’t have any money, we would eat beans and rice. I left the seminary
eating many types of beans. They are still not my favorite, but I will eat them without fussing. I think of Elijah in the Old Testament where God provided for his daily bread by having birds bring bread and meat to him and he drank water from the
brook. This is does not sound appetizing, but he lived! We may have gone through times where we were hungry, but we are still here today. God has provided.
I pray: O Lord, help
me to not worry about my life, what I eat, or what I wear. Help me to be responsible, but to also trust in you that you will provide my daily bread. I give thanks for all you have done for me. Amen.