Worry Warts: The Conclusion of Matthew 6

(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? Which of you by worrying can add on cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing?
Consider the lillies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
- Matthew 6:25-34 Taken from the New King James Version

So today marks the conclusion of the Matthew 6 series. What a journey/blessing it's been! I have no doubt that God wanted me to study Matthew 6 for such a time as this.

What to take home from this message:

• Work hard. Do what you can. Leave the rest to God. 

I once heard a preacher say to work as if prayer as nothing to do with it and pray as if work has nothing to do with it. Work hard. Pray even harder. Sometimes, God really is looking at us to take some initiative. While these verses are encouraging us to lean on Him, let's not forget to work hard and be diligent. Excellence in our work honors the God we serve. Don't be lazy and expect Him to do the things He's given you strength to get up and do yourself. 

• Trust God to take care of you and provide provisions. 

Once you've done all you can and you've put it in His hands, leave it there. Oftentimes, we put our problems into God's hands and then take them right back out. Imagine wearing a designer garment and getting a snag in the fabric. The actual designer of the garment tells you that she can fix it for free. You give it to her but then decide to take it back because, even though you can't sew,  you'll figure out a quicker way to do it. It's absurd. That's exactly how we treat God. 

• Remember that God can really hook you up. Whatever the desire is, just know that He won't play you. 

Your worry may not be "what am I going to eat?" or "what am I going to wear?" Your worry could be, "when am I going to get a raise/job?" "when am I going to find a mate?" Putting these worries in the hands of God can be hard sometimes. We're not always worried that God couldn't find us someone though. Sometimes, we're afraid of WHO God will choose: i.e. a total square. God's not like that though. He knows your taste better than you do. Let Him take care of the picking. Just follow His lead. 

• Stop stressing!!!!

I say that almost every day but I recently found a picture of myself from junior year in college and felt the tears coming. There's something behind that smile that's been long gone. There's nothing like looking at picture of yourself and recognizing that something has changed. I remember when I took the picture and what time in my life I was in. I was dancing a lot that semester in preparation for a student government performance. I was finding my own little niche on campus. Life gets hard but don't let it get you to the place where you don't recognize who you are without stress. Give it to God. Take a dance class. Practice some pilates moves. Lift some weights. Soak in the beauty of nature. Go swing on a swing. Integrate more spontaneity into your life to take the edge off. 

After seeing these old pictures, I've decided that I need to make some changes: change of pace, scenery, weight, food, people, sleep, etc. and return to these pictures. I felt much better back then. Stress will not put me in an early grave. This is my public charge to change myself.