Two Days Not to Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Devotional

Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but won’t get you anywhere. Sometimes, however, it’s hard not to worry when we have problems with health, family, finances, or the like. And many people find themselves bearing not just one worry, but three — troubles they have had, troubles they have now, and troubles they expect to have.

There are, however, at least two days of the week about which there is no need to worry. One of those days is yesterday. That is because it’s gone, and you can’t call it back. You lived that day and now it’s done. We can give God our yesterday, and let it become His. If yesterday brought pain, each tomorrow will help us feel less pain. Even though it may feel unbearable now.

If yesterday held sin, something we did, that we dearly regret. Through repentance we can allow Him to take it. In fact we can actually mine something valuable from yesterday even though it may not feel like it right now. And that is we can learn from our mistakes, a most valuable lesson, and become more like Jesus as we learn His ways and move forward. And through Jesus’ death on the cross we can be forgiven in His eyes.

Another day about which there is no need to worry is tomorrow. It’s beyond our control and beyond our mastery. Tomorrow is God’s day, yet to be ours.

There is a terrible weariness in carrying the remorse of yesterday and the fear of what tomorrow might bring. But such worry doesn’t have to be ours, because those are God’s days. Leave them to Him. He has promised to “hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

Prayer

Father, this is the day You have made. Help me rejoice and be glad in it; for Jesus’ sake I pray. Amen.

Cast Your Cares Upon the Father

1 Peter 5:6-7

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (Bible Translation : King James Version)

Devotional

Life has its cares and concerns; illness, loneliness, grief, financial trouble, family problems, and national and international problems.

Saint Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has a good word for us today as we struggle with life in the middle of a busy week: “Cast all your cares upon Him.” We are not alone. God sent Jesus, who gives us courage, for He cared enough to go to the cross for us and die for all of our sins. This same Jesus can give us strength as we struggle with life. We can’t often control whether or not we lose our job, but in Christ, we can decide on other options for our life. We can’t control whether or not we get seriously ill, but in Christ, we can make a heroic adjustment to our illness. We can be weak, yet — in Christ — strong.

Christ is on our side. He gives us power. In moments of doubt and desperation, in moments filled with fear, we can cast all our concern upon the Father. We can thank our great and good God for all of His bountiful blessings, both physical and spiritual. We can look to the mighty hand of God, which holds a multitude of divine gifts for us; if we humble ourselves and turn to Him.