"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 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, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. 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 6:28-34
Why
do you worry?
Jesus tells us that God knows exactly what we need
and that God provides exactly that.
But
who among us actually believes that? For me it takes the prayer of relinquishment.
The prayer of relinquishment is this,
“Lord,
if you allow the worst that I can imagine to happen, then, even as I
imagine it, I give you permission to make that your “provision” for
me. I accept whatever
you bring into my life. I
chose to believe that whatever you allow will be worked by You for a
good purpose and that you have a mission and purpose for me in it.
Lord, I certainly don’t want what I perceive to be the worst
that can happen to happen, but I chose to trust you more that I trust my
circumstances. Lord,
you are my Master, not my circumstantial desires.
Amen”
Having
come to grips with this, having chosen this, the highest prayer in the
Bible (“Thy will be done”), as my
prayer, I can now get on with a life of gratitude for God’s provisions
for today. I can get
on with a life where my trust in God is no longer contingent upon good
things happening to me. I
can get past “me”.
Of course, it’s easy for me to make that prayer my prayer while I’m a happy, comfortable, American suburbanite. Nevertheless, it’s my prayer, and I will depend on God for the Grace I need be it in times of abundance or in times of want.
Of course, it’s easy for me to make that prayer my prayer while I’m a happy, comfortable, American suburbanite. Nevertheless, it’s my prayer, and I will depend on God for the Grace I need be it in times of abundance or in times of want.
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