25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
— Matthew 6:25:27; 31-34
Life makes it hard not to be anxious at times. The assuring presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives makes calmness and peace available to us in stressful, unsettling situations.
Having the world’s largest ulcer or anxiety attacks will not solve our problems or make our lives better. To be spiritually and emotionally fulfilled we must put our lives in God’s hands. We must trust and obey. There is great strength in those two actions.
Matthew 6:26 teaches us that the same God who provides for the birds of the air, is the God that loves and adores us. Don’t allow birds to have more trust in the Creator than you do. All of soulless creation lives in faith in God, shouldn’t we?
Getting anxious in our flesh can cause us to act prematurely. Be patient wait on the Lord and trust His love and guidance.
You can never acquire enough “things” and store up enough “goods” to satisfy your soul. Our God knows how to turn what appears to be nothing into just what we need.
Our focus absolutely has to be on the righteousness of God and building our personal relationship with Him.
The closer our personal relationship with God becomes the deeper our faith. Follow God day by day, step by step, moment by moment. The future is up to Him. What we do with our now is up to us. Invest in God and God alone. He will take care of the rest.
Austin Bishop is an ordained Assemblies of God minister. Those wishing to receive his daily devotional/Bible study notes may sign up by texting 601-938-2471 and asking to be added to either the morning or afternoon list.
