“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34 ESV
How many remember Bobby McFerrin’s song, Don’t Worry Be Happy? It is a happy little tune with whistling an excellent reggae beat. In the song, McFerrin talks about all these bad things that may happen, but when they do, you shouldn’t let them affect your happiness. Here is just one verse:
Now there, is this song I wrote
I hope you learned note for note
Like good little children, don't worry, be happy
Now listen to what I said, in your life expect some trouble
When you worry you make it double
But don't worry, be happy, be happy now
There is an endless list of things of which we can worry. All you need to do is watch the news, turn on your radio, and turn on your computer; pandemics, riots, tensions, wars and rumors of wars. All this bad news delivered conveniently to us each day. In Jesus’s time, they were fortunate enough not to be constantly bombarded with all these negative messages, but then like now, they had all the usual everyday stuff. But here is what Jesus had to say (25-27), “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
While it is our human tendency to worry, we can have faith in every circumstance that God will provide. Sometimes it may be in the most surprising ways. Many years ago, before my mom married my step-dad, Rudy, he had a serious job site accident that put him into a coma and left him unable to work for the rest of his life. Rudy, his wife, and their 13 kids were living in Oklahoma at the time. Recovering from his injuries, no source of income, little food, and rent due in the mailbox one day, they received a check from someone they didn’t know at a particularly crucial time that helped them through that period.
Trust God, our heavenly Father loves his children and does not want us to be anxious and stressed-out. He wants us to place our worries, anxieties, stresses and troubles at his feet.
Like good little children, don't worry, be happy
Now listen to what I said, in your life expect some trouble
When you worry you make it double
But don't worry, be happy, be happy now
Our Heavenly Father, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Every day you provide for us, sometime in the most surprising ways, and we give you thanks. Forgive us when we take this for granted and for when we fail to put our trust in you. Please help us remember we have an open invitation to come to you at any time and give our anxieties to you. In the name of your Son and our co-heir Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Blessings!
Pastor Tim
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