Monday, April 27, 2009

Seeking

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Matthew 6:25, 33-34 (NIV, emphasis mine)

Worry. Is your life full of worry? Mine is!

My son, 4-and-a-half-going-on-thirteen, has been very giving in the area of worry. He loves to run, jump, and climb which leads to falls, scrapes, cuts, and many, many tears. I'm learning to wipe them away so that I can see where he is running off to next. Once, while at the county fairgrounds before the official opening of the fair, he decided to "play" in a broom closet. He failed to tell his father and I where he was going; we both thought the other knew where he was. Fifteen (long) minutes later we found him. He was a little dirty, but otherwise had no clue the ruckus he had caused.
A few months, and a new baby, later, we had to rush him to the emergency room after he had an allergic reaction to a nut product. I had to inject him with a shot of epinephrine at home before driving he and his four-month old little sister to the hospital.
My husband owns his own business. This means he works long hours and we never know when or where our paycheck is coming from. I know we are blessed to have such an opportunity in times such as these, but I daily have to go before God and say, "You are in charge! I don't know what's going on, so I trust that you do." He hasn't let us down yet.

This morning I was directed to the verse above, God's little reminder that "it's all good!" He takes care of the least of these -- the flowers, the birds -- how much better does he care for us, those he made in his image. I've heard it explained this way: God knows what we need. We are to seek (pursue with a passion!) his kingdom (his will for our life), and the things we need will be given to us.
We are to pursue God with a passion! Run after him! Love Him with everything you have! If I am running after God, I am not worrying about what I will eat for dinner tonight or if the clothes my kids wear are going to make through one more washing. If I am chasing after God, then he will take care of me when the bills are past due and I can change my name to Old Mother Hubbard.

I realize it is easy to say, "Do not worry." Jesus said it three times in this passage (also in verse 31), so this makes me think it's kind of important. Really. Do not worry. God already knows what is going to happen. Trust him to walk with you through it.

What are you worrying about today?
How can you or do you give it over to God? (Write it down, pray, talk it out, etc.)

2 comments:

ambersun said...

This is one of my favourite passages of the Bible, mainly because I am a terrible worrier.

Right now I am worried about my impending eviction and the health of my cat. I pray constantly but am not getting any peace.

Thank you for sharing your struggles honestly.

God Bless

The other Amber

Michelle said...

Well said! Thank you so much for this...I needed it today! I love this verse and it's been banging around in the back of my heart and head - thanks for bringing it to the forefront of my thinking! A great reminder that God will bring His message through me for the retreat this weekend, and that He's well aware of the medical bills piling up and the plethora of days David has missed at work. I am blessed to not only have you as my cousin, but as my Sister~Friend in the Lord. May you be abundantly blessed by His presence today! =]