DON’T WORRY ABOUT YOUR PHYSICAL NEEDS

Matt. 6:25-34  Do not worry about your life, food or drink, clothing or tomorrow.

Luke12:22-28 Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

Luke 12:29 Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink, do not worry about it.

John 6:27 Do not work for food that spoils, but food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.

John 7:37 If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT YOUR PHYSICAL NEEDS 

Father,

You have blessed us with resources so we know we have food, drink and clothing. Many in war ravaged or diseased infested lands do not have it so well. And many right now in New York and New Jersey are struggling without power, food, water or gas and with their homes destroyed as a result of hurricane Sandy. It is much more difficult in these situations to trust You for our care. Or is it? Sometimes we feel closest to you when we need you the most.

Even with abundance we worry about what to wear (though we have plenty of clothes). We worry about the economy with the debt looming over our country. And we worry about minor physical problems, about the length of our life and the duration of good health. I know I do. I often worry about tomorrow! 

Forgive me, Lord. Worry is a common human response to most anything. I think Jesus is saying our worry separates us from You. And much of what we worry about is in the future. To stay close to You we need to remain in the present rather than borrowing trouble by worrying about tomorrow. Help me remain in You and trust You completely.

Blessings, Dottie

Using Time

Many of us struggle with how we use time, often wishing for more time, often pressured by time. Human beings are different from any other creature on this earth. We are aware of time. We are also blessed with both memory and imagination. We can remember the past and we can imagine our future. These enable us to live thoughtful and creative lives.

However, our memory and our imagination also create problems for us. Often our minds are influenced by painful memories and by negative, imaginative thoughts of the future. Our memory reminds us of past fears, worries, guilts, hurts and discouragement. It may say, for example, “Remember how foolish you felt when you tried something new in second grade and the class laughed at you.” And so we back away from change because of memories. We decide not to try something new.

Memories, conscious and unconscious, cause us to be fearful of the future. Many of our fears, worries, and jealousies, are created by our negative imaginations. We picture the worst happening? We say to ourselves, what if ____ happened? And then we start to worry about “it” happening. Someone has said that worry about the future is interest paid on a debt that may never come due. Worry changes nothing and keeps us from growing and trying new things.

How do we not worry in our complex world? We can use our minds, our memories and our imaginations to remind us that God is in charge and that his purposes are good. We can then make conscious choices about how we use the time we have (the present). Only mankind is capable of this. We can remember the past but we don’t have to be bound by the past. With God’s help we can use our wills, to set priorities and to move toward them. This way we use our time wisely.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6


Blessings, Dottie