Don’t Worry About Your Life | Luke 12:29-34
Welcome to Real Life. “Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” –Corrie Ten Boom
Will I have enough? Can I make the mortgage payment, cover medical expenses, save for retirement, pay down the loan, gas and repair the car, and still buy groceries? It’s a constant concern. Daily, the cost of living increases. Since the economic meltdown, few feel financially secure.
What if I don’t have enough? Someone close to me lost her home through the economic crisis. Recently, she told me, “It felt like the end of the world. I couldn’t imagine how we’d survive. I resented the small, cramped home we found to rent. Yet, here I am (a couple of years later). I survived. We (the family) are okay. I’ve adjusted. I don’t even mind living in our new place. I’m comfortable there. It’s home.” Now, she’s able to encourage others who are in danger of losing their homes. She’s my hero!
Jesus told his disciples,
“Don’t worry about your life,
what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.”
Birds don’t have pantries or barns. Yet, God feeds them. We’re much more valuable to him than a sparrow. Flowers don’t labor to afford fine clothing. Yet, not even an actress on Oscar night is arrayed as elegantly as God dresses a rose.
Does worrying help, anyway? Can it add even one hour to my life? So, why do I do it? The cure for worry is to switch focus:
Seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well.
Real Life consists of more than the stuff I need, want, and accumulate. Like a spring tulip, my existence on earth is brief. How important is a dream home, haute cuisine, and designer fashions in light of eternity?
Because God’s kingdom will last forever, none of the time, money or energy I invest in it is ever wasted. Rather than steadily expanding my kingdom with newer, bigger, and better, I can downsize. I can sell my stuff and give to the poor. Generosity opens the heart. It breaks the grip of greed. It gets my focus on someone other than myself.
And, when I make God—his presence, his will, his ways—my priority, he promises to take care of my needs. My loved one lost her home. But, she survived. She has food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over her head. Recently, she told me, “I really enjoy praying.” Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.
Dearest Lord, you are my treasure.
Taking it further …
- The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.
- “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin.
Image: One of my friend, Chris Lewicki’s award winning roses.
