Your Cares or Your Cross
Jesus says do not worry. Will we listen to Him? Are we willing to cast aside worry from our lives?
“I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm...I will be your God; and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God...Moses spoke so to the children of Israel, but they didn’t listen to Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage."
Exodus 6:6-7, 9, 28-30
Things were so bad that the people God was working to rescue did not want to hear a word He had to say. Their eyes were on what was right in front of them and how hard things were. Can you relate?
God wants to lift your eyes to see beyond. Beyond your burdens. Beyond the challenges you face, beyond the worry that comes from not knowing what is to come, or how things will all work out. God wants to help you see beyond the horizon and know that He is God with us, always. Ever wonder how what you endure could be part of God's plan? Ever feel alone?
“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?...I know this: that God is for me. I have put my trust in God. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"
Psalms 56:3-4, 9-12
David sings his way through his worry. He starts by acknowledging that there are times when he is afraid, but then commits to trusting God. He keeps repeating it until he believes it. What is our daily mantra? What words do we repeat the most? How can we learn from David about the power of our words to encourage ourselves to believe that God has our best in mind?
“Now therefore, my sons, listen to me. Don’t depart from the words of my mouth. ...For the ways of man are before Yahweh’s eyes. He examines all his paths.”
Proverbs 5:7, 15, 18, 21
What are you listening to? What music, what television, what social media, what friends, what opinions? Solomon asks the one he loves to listen to him. How would it help how we feel if we put up boundaries as to what we allowed into our minds and hearts? Are we making sure that the voices we listen to are the ones who want what is best for us? The previous Proverbs said guard your heart and it starts by evaluating what you let in.
“Yahweh says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is near...the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him, and to love Yahweh’s name, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant, I will bring these to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer...for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
Isaiah 56:1-2, 6-7
How much time do you spend in prayer? It would be interesting to measure how much time one spends in prayer and the amount of peace they have in their heart? If prayer is important to God and is a marker of His house, then maybe it should be a marker of ours? Do you have a prayer spot, a prayer room, or do a prayer walk around your space? Have you dedicated your home as a home of prayer?
“I tell you, my friends, don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do...the very hairs of your head are all counted. Therefore don’t be afraid...I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat, nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they don’t sow, they don’t reap, they have no warehouse or barn, and God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds!...Consider the lilies, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if this is how God clothes the grass in the field, which today exists and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? “Don’t seek what you will eat or what you will drink; neither be anxious. For the nations of the world seek after all of these things, but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek God’s Kingdom, and all these things will be added to you...For where your treasure is, there will your heart be"
Luke 12:4-9, 15, 22-25, 27-34, 37, 42-44,51
Jesus says the order of operations in your life matters. Start first by seeking God. Why? Because when you spend time with God and hear His voice you will hear that all the worries, fears, and anxieties that tend to dominate your thinking are not surprising to God. Jesus says that flowers and birds which come and go matter to God and we need to know how much more each of us matter. If we matter like He says then we do not have to fear what is to come because we can have faith that God will provide.
It is really hard to be God centered and other centered if you are fear centered or worry centered. Jesus says we have to choose. What is the center of your life?Where you invest your time, talent, and treasure is where your heart is. What do your calendar, your cares, and your checkbook say about what you prioritize? Jesus keeps it simple. Put God first. Have faith. Trust is demonstrated by your actions and there is never a bad time to trust in the God who is with you and loves you. What worry do you need to let go of so you can worship God fully?