TRUST ME
Opening Prayer
God, show me how much You care about me. May I show You how much I care about You.
Read Matthew 6:25–34
25 “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 than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
In his sermon Jesus pushes his disciples with a hard question about priorities. What are your priorities?Let me tell part of my own story here. As a teenage boy, aged 16, I was ready to leave the church. Yet as a parting act I picked up a Bible and read this sermon. Parts were hard to read—I didn’t really trust the Father and I was the hypocrite. Jesus was saying, clearly, “Enough—stop it!”
Two themes struck home in this reading. The first was “don’t worry”—used six times. And I was, indeed, anxious. A friend had died a few months earlier; my family was moving to a distant city; and I struggled with insecurity.
The second was tied to the first: God’s providence is evident, consistent and breathtaking. So trust him. Earlier in the sermon we’ve read a number of sections that left us dangling—facing problems of flawed faith or hypocrisy, yet without a clear solution. This reading is the solution: we’re invited to hold God’s kingdom and righteousness as our sole focus in life. And then we can allow him to start applying his providence in our lives.
Apply
What are you worried about today? What one aspect of God’s kingdom and righteousness can you focus on today to help you overcome worry? His joy? Peace? Hope?…
Closing prayer
Lord, I choose to lay down my worries today and fix my eyes on Your kingdom. Keep my heart hidden in You.
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