Don't Worry, Trust God

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

DON’T WORRY, TRUST GOD

 

Luke 12:22-31

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

NIV

Jesus has more to say about this whole matter, but we have so much within these words of him, that we could spend days pondering on these first before we get to the rest. However, the key truth is that we are not to worry about our lives. The Greek gives us a greater insight into the word worry, merimnao, which has a direct meaning to be anxious about, to give a thought about. How much time do we spend being anxious about the things in our lives? How we are going to get this done, or how are we going to make it through this situation, or how can we achieve that or this.  How much better can we do, or how can we save in case something happens. There is just so much we have to be concerned about, even with our walk with the Lord. Are we doing enough? What will people think about us? Do we look alright, do we have the right clothes for the occasion, or just to go to church? We don’t want to be like that rich farmer, but we still have to make enough money, and we still have to plan for our future needs. There is so much to do, will we have enough time to get it all done? On and on the things of this life can squeeze us, hem us in, and pressure us into almost a frenzy that we begin to feel physically sick over all those things in our lives if we allow them to take control of us rather than obeying Jesus when he tells us not to become anxious about our lives. The one thing we always have to remember is this portion of our lives is merely temporary. However, it is not that our Father in Heaven has left us to stumble all alone through this life without anything, to be penniless, without any of the things of this world. Jesus makes that point very clear. We are first and foremost to seek the kingdom of God. This is not about how much we do, how many good deeds we can do, or how much service at church we can perform, or what title or position we have in the body of Christ. This is about seeking the kingdom of God, wanting God to be our ruler, our king, the authority in our lives. This is about being who God desires us to be, his child, nothing more, nothing less. We cannot live being focused on our lives, getting through, doing all we can to succeed in whatever, including being a Christian, and then adding all the rules and regulations we think God has burdened us down with is the way we achieve being a good Christian. That cannot be our main focus in life, for we are simply supposed to seek first His kingdom in our lives. Seek his authority in our lives. Seek God. In putting God first above all else, including ourselves, He will add all the things that we need to live rightly in this life. God will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory, of course, that could mean Jesus, for that is the richest of God’s provisions for us, forgiveness of our sins in Christ Jesus, salvation in Christ Jesus, and eternal life in Christ Jesus. But Jesus is telling us, that it is also about the things the pagans run after, the things, the money, the success, the fame and glory of this life. But putting God first, seeking his kingdom in our lives first, he will add all that stuff to us. He will make it happen. He will provide so much. He will open the floodgates of heaven; we will not have room enough to contain all his blessings. It just comes down to the fact, don’t worry, but trust God.