About birds and flowers...

Photo credit

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 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? 

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? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? 

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, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 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? 

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

~Matthew 6:24-34 NLT

Sometimes it's so refreshing to read a familiar passage of the Bible in a different translation. It puts the words into a new perspective, highlighting certain verses that I didn't notice before.

"

These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs." I was thinking a lot about our budget last night, wondering how to make things work in the next month. A lot of our home bills come due at the beginning of the month, and I was struck by the thought that I wasn't sure if we'd have the money in our account to pay them. I had a hard time falling asleep.

But when I woke this morning, I started reading the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). And came to this familiar passage. And it comforted me once again, especially reading it with fresh words. Worrying about anything (like where money for groceries will come from this month) won't add a single moment to my life. In fact, it takes away a moment from my life -- the moments I spend worrying about it!

So while planning and deciding what our next steps will be is good, the time spent thinking "woe is me! life sucks! oh my goodness what are we going to do?!?!" is not good. If I'd surrendered our situation to God sooner, I would have gotten more sleep last night...

Are you a natural worrier, like me? How do you move past it?