No Worries

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
    
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
    
and he will show you which path to take.” - Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
 
“No worries,” I said to the fast-food employee when they got my order wrong. “Let’s just make it right.”
 
“No worries. It’s all good,” I said to the lady with an over-stuffed buggy full of food items, necessities and children after she accidentally bumped into my buggy at the grocery store.
 
“No worries,” I said to the 8th grade basketball player as she worked on a ball-handling drill that she just couldn't do with her left hand. “Keep working at it and you’ll get it.”
 
“No worries…” Seems like I say it a lot, but do I live it? Do I really have that surfer dude mentality? Or is it just something to say to be nice, polite or encouraging.
 
Then I read Matthew 6:25-34 and realized just how much I worried. Just how much I allowed the world and circumstances to affect me and my anxiety levels. Just how much I trusted in me instead of trusting in the Lord.
 
As I was reading that Matthew passage this morning, I soon realized that this was a list of the reasons why we should not worry. Now, I’m not usually a “What Not To Do” list maker/follower. However, since this was in the red letters (Jesus speaking), I thought maybe I should pay closer attention. I soon realized that maybe I do worry about things too much and that maybe the “surfer-dudes” had it right, for the most part. Maybe I’m not the rule rebel that I sometimes like to think I am. Maybe I need to apply Jesus words to my life. Write them on my heart. Live what I say I believe.
 
That being said, here are Jesus’ words in 7 bite size morsels, a list if you would, for us to chew on about why we should not worry. Remembering that planning (with the Lord’s direction & guidance), is not worry:
 
6:25 - The same God who created life in you can be trusted with the details of your life.
 
6:26 - Worrying about the future hampers your efforts for today.
 
6:27 - Worrying is more harmful than helpful
 
6:28-30 - God does not ignore those who depend on Him.
 
6:31,32 - Worrying shows a lack of faith in and understanding of God.
 
6:33 - Worrying keeps us from real challenges God wants us to pursue.
 
6:34 - Living one day at a time keeps us from being consumed with worry.
 
Hope this helps, at least some, during these trying times.
 
Keep the Faith... Carpe Diem
 
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” - Matthew 6:25-34 NLT