"Do Not Worry About Tomorrow" Scripture Passage: "Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:26-34 CSB (Jesus speaking) I was going to start doing a weekly devotional post here at Six-Twelve Ministries to dig into the Bible to help provide hope, joy and encouragement for everyone for the week. But this morning I got a very discouraging call that brought this passage of Scripture to mind and I felt a need to share with everyone, and hopefully provide some hope, joy and encouragement that I found in it. :) Like many of you, my wife and I have found ourselves without jobs due to COVID-19 and the effect it has had on our world. We have both been diligently looking for work, and things finally were looking good for me concerning a possible job. I was supposed to go in for a follow up interview for a job today, but an hour before my interview, I received a phone call saying that the company was freezing hiring until after the COVID-19 issue gets figured out. I stayed cheerful on the phone but inside I was crushed. The call ended. I stared out my window in silence. Finally, I took a deep breath and said, "God, this is frustrating. But I know You've got this. You have something better planned for me." "Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying?" asks our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course not! Worry causes anxiety and takes away our joy. Is this what God wants of His people? Again, of course not! "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice!" the apostle Paul commands us in Philippians 4:4. Being a birdwatcher, I love the lesson Jesus gives concerning the birds. They are God's creation. Do they worry about the future so much that they have to store up vast quantities of food because they are worried that God wont provide for them? They do not! Do the flowers of the field worry about how beautiful they are going to look when they bloom? Not at all. But God, in His great wisdom and power, looks after both. "This bold and slyly humorous assurance about all the basic elements of our existence-food and drink and clothing and other needs of life-can only be supported on a clear-eyed vision that a totally good an d competent God is right here with us to look after us...The Old Testament experience of God is one of the direct presence of God's person, knowledge, and power to those who trust and serve HIm. Nothing-no human being or institution, no time, no space, no spiritual being, no event-stands between God and those who trust Him." -Dallas Willard on Matthew 6:26-34 We are God's workmanship. God made us in His image. He breathed the breath of life into our bodies. This is not said about any other creature in Scripture! How much does God care about His Creation, from the least to the greatest? He is right there watching over all of it. Let us rejoice in knowing that our God, who takes care of the flowers of the fields and the birds of the air, is also taking care of us! "Jesus told them(the Pharisees) and us not to worry about these(the pursuit of the material) things, for life is more important than physical things. He cited several illustrations to prove His point. The birds of the air are fed by the heavenly Father, and the flowers of the field grow in such a way that their splendor is greater than even Solomon's. Jesus was saying God has built into His Creation the means by which all things are cared for. The birds are fed because they diligently work to maintain their lives. They do not store up great amounts of food, but continually work. And believers are far more valuable to God than birds! The flowers grow daily through a natural process. Therefore an individual need not be anxious about his existence, for by worrying he can never add any amount of time, not even a single hour, to his life. Rather than being like the pagans who are concerned about physical needs, the Lord's disciples should be concerned about the things of God, His kingdom and His righteousness. Then all these will be supplied in God's timing. This is the life of daily faith. Id does no good to worry-do not worry occurs three times-or be concerned about to morrow for there are sufficient matters to attend to each day. Worrying shows that one has "little" faith in what God can do. As a disciple cares each day for the things God has trusted to him, God, his heavenly Father, cares for his daily needs." -The Bible Knowledge Commentary on Matthew 6:26-34 My brothers and sisters. Do not worry, do not be anxious. Let us not be of "little faith" in trusting our great and loving Heavenly Father. Even in these discouraging times, know that He has a plan for you and has not left you. Let us turn instead to God and praise Him for all He has done for us. Let us rejoice in the great truth that He cares for us even more than the birds of the air and flowers of the fields. Seek God daily in reading Scripture, prayer and meditation. Soli Deo gloria! -Daniel McAdams-
0 Comments
Immanuel: "God with us."
Scripture passage: "Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance." -James 1:2-3 CSB The phrase "whenever you experience various trials" assumes that trials are a normal part of the Christian life. In fact, trials are given for a faithful disciple (2Tm 3:12). -CSB Study Bible notes Trials result in one of two things. Either we turn to God and trust in Him or we turn away and try to climb out of the trial on our own power, and blame God for our trouble. One will always succeed, the other will always fail. One gives all the glory to God, the other seeks to give glory to self. True faith in God will trust in Him through all times of life, no matter how difficult or terrible it may seem. God promises us many times in His Word that He is always with us. "Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff- they comfort me." Psalm 23:4 CSB We are promised that even through "the darkest valley" or "valley of the shadow of death" that He IS with us. He is not distant from us. He is not waiting for us to call on Him so that He can then come to us. He IS with us. And notice also that this verse does not say that there may be dark valleys or that if we make the wrong decision, that then we will enter a dark valley. No, we are promised that we will have dark valleys in our life. But the amazing promise is that God IS with us still. We, as believers, will experience trials during our lives. Both trials that are unique to us alone, and trials that impact our community and world. In both, God is with us. He is Immanuel, God with us. What an amazing name God has! "God with us." Let us take comfort in that truth and name of our God. "God with us." Let us embrace these times of trials with joy and faith. Let us be the light of the world and salt of the earth. Let our faith be so strong that those of the world marvel at the hope that we have within us. Let's use these times to show Jesus to the world. Trust in the Lord always. Spend time daily in Scripture, prayer and meditation on God's Word. Soli Deo gloria! -Daniel McAdams- |
The six-twelve blogAll blog posts and articles are written by the team at Six-Twelve Ministries.
Feel free to share and quote any blog post or article with proper credit given. Soli Deo gloria! Archives
February 2024
Categories |