Do Not Worry, Part ???

Matthew 6:25 - Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life...

I don't often just open the Bible and read what's on that particular page, but I did this morning. What a delightful word, again. A word I needed to hear. That's God, all right. He knows what we need when we need it and although this may seem a coincidence to some, He knew it was a word for me today.

Deep in my spirit there is a knowing that all things will be according to God's plan and I'm so thankful for that. There are times though I want to see things happen now. The waiting period has been long and I must cling to the very personal promises God has revealed to me in the Spirit. That is hard when the days since those promises have been many. But then to the Lord a day can be as a thousand years or a thousand years as a day. God has no time schedule. But living in this 24-hour-a-day rigid world we have makes my patience a thing to be worked on.

Psalm 126:5 - Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. My mind has been racing again, filled with tidbits of seemingly disjointed ideas. I sense they are all connected and one cannot be removed from another. Yet to make sense of them altogether makes me nuts! It's like one of those crazy dreams we all have where you know what you dreamed but you can't put any of it into words except to say, "I had this weird dream last night." I'm not saying I'm crying over this, but there are times when the burden is heavy and yet you know that when it's done there will be rejoicing...and you might even think, "Oh, for Pete's sake, why did I fret so?"

I think it's more a frustration. I need a word from the Lord. And He says not to worry about anything. He tells me to just give it all to Him and He will handle everything in His perfect way and in His perfect timing. That's such a comfort until I think, "but when is that perfect timing?" And then I can hear God saying, "Oh, for Pete's sake!"

I'm reminded in Matthew 6 that I am of more value than the birds of the air which God feeds. Feeding...he feeds me with His Word. His Words are soothing in the midst of these times. Oh, the peace that comes when you just sit back and thank God for His understanding of your situation, when you choose this day to again lay that burden, or burdens, at the foot of the cross...and determine not to pick them up again...today!

I know that little by little those things racing through my head will one by one be taken care of. I might not even recognize it until one day later. Or God might suddenly put it out before me and show me what I must do now! A word might need to be spoken or an action taken. Lord, just let my eyes and ears be open to see this and respond accordingly.

We are to be flexible to the will of God. We cannot say, not today, Lord. We are to be ready at any time, in season or out. That's called obedience. And as someone once said, patience is a virtue. Wait and obey, wait and obey. Ah, Jesus!

Jesus goes on to say in Matthew Chapter 6 that my Heavenly Father knows what I have need of. But we are to seek Him first. That's the most important thing in the lives of all people. To seek Him first. That first thought in the morning. Do you do that? Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking of Jesus? Do songs of praise lilt through your head as you sleep and you awake praising God? You're missing out if that doesn't happen. Seriously, you are.

I'm so far from being perfect it isn't funny. But my heart is stayed on Jesus. He sees my imperfections through eyes of love since I received Him 12 years ago. Oh, how did I live without Him before? That was easy...it was my "non-knowledge" of God that got me through. Amazing how blind we can be until the Truth comes into our hearts and lives and awakens within us a whole new spirituality based on Jesus. And the work begins, the work of patience, not worrying and obedience, not always in that order.

There is only one way to the Father. When we find that Way we no longer need to fear...we might forget on occasion and become humanly impatient, but despite that there is at the end of that long string of racing thoughts a knot of peace that is tied so tightly just for you. That knot is Jesus if you have reached out in a moment of despair and grabbed hold of Him.

I'm thankful in a way for the disruption in my spirit sometimes (note I said sometimes). It helps me to realize I'm still alive! I'm still under God's wing, under His watchful eye. I know that when things come at us there will be a day when the Lord will shine when His plan has been set forth in whatever way. It won't be me who accomplished thus and so but His work through me. I'm thankful it's by His strength, whether it be a world problem or a personal one, that we come through. This happens so we cannot boast of our own accomplishments. That's why He's God and we aren't. God is who He says He is, He can do what He says He can do. We just need that mustard seed of faith, recall we have that when we grow weary. Let go of those things that we cannot do anything about and just let Him be who He is best at being...the one true God.

After writing all this I checked in on Oswald Chambers. He talked about friendship with Jesus through our own sacrifice and surrender to Him. He writes: We never know the joy of self-sacrifice until we abandon in every particular. Self-surrender is the most difficult thing - I will if . . . ! ... As soon as we do abandon, the Holy Ghost gives us an intimation of the joy of Jesus...and the thought of sacrifice never touches us because sacrifice is the love passion of the Holy Ghost...when the sacrifice is made with the eyes on Him, slowly and surely the moulding influence begins to tell. We sacrifice to and for Jesus. Giving up our burdens is a form of self-sacrifice, a form of love for Jesus, knowing He can do a better job in any circumstance.

Let me end with this. It is partly a work (renewing) left to do in me and partly a wonderful promise (the eternal rewards are greater). We may weep today, but we will rejoice tomorrow:

2Corinthians 4:16-18 - Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The Cares of this World

Psalm 8:3-4 - When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?

I love sitting outside early in the morning meditating on the goodness of God and the beautiful things I see in our yard. He has blessed all of us with the nature He has created.
We cannot comprehend the depth of His wisdom, His ability to create, nourish, grow and sustain. He even knows when it is time to end a cycle of life. The seasons come and go. Praise God.

It's easy to let the cares of this world diminish in my heart and mind when I focus so closely to those things around me. These things of nature draw me closer to God. His character and beauty displayed so all the world can see. What more could we desire to have around us?

As I sat outside this morning thanking God for what we have and knowing He loves to bless us all, a moment of unrest entered in. Thoughts quickly zipped through my mind that could have caused anxiousness about how the freedoms we have might be stripped away. How would that affect us? What might we lose? What might we have to give up? How will we survive? What about healthcare?

Then I was immediately reminded what God has told us; We are of more value than the little sparrows (Matthew 10:31). He knows what our needs are before we even think of them. Matthew 16 goes into detail about this. That's the real answer...the needs. We can have all the things we think we have to have to survive, but do we realize what we need more than want? Do we realize Who we need over want? If the Lord is our first thought in the morning, if He is who we trust in and believe in, if He is what we need first, He will provide.

I never want to get to a place where I am content with the finest of things. I enjoy nice things, but certainly am not one who needs to have them. My happiness is not wrapped up in those things. I always want to remember leaner days in my life and also how I got along well without. I want to know that I could survive fine with less and trust God more.

I'm thankful for this day and what it brings. I'm thankful for God's blessings. I am also aware that the Lord gives and He takes away. I pray for strength in case that day comes.
I suppose that sounds like a gloomy thought but I assure you it is not. God as my Center, my Source, is all I need.

The Psalms were written by King David and are full of praise of the goodness of God, His faithfulness. He blesses those who watch for Him, who love Him and trust when we cannot imagine what lies ahead. I bet I could list one from every Psalm. Despite difficult times as long as David praised God he was in His safety.

The LORD will hear when I call to Him. I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy...let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield. You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.  (Psalms 4:3b, 4:8, 5:11-12, 3:3, 2:12b)

If all His creation means so much to Him (...He saw that it was good) and He was able to speak it into existence (And God said...) and we were added to this so He could enjoy our company why would He not take care of those who call Him their Source and Center? What have we to fear?

The other day Oswald Chambers talked about putting God first, trusting in Him. I'd forgotten I'd read that. This morning he wrote about what haunts us. He said, "So we are to live and move and have our being in God, to look at everything in relation to God, [like seeing through His eyes??] because the abiding consciousness of God pushes itself to the front all the time. If we are haunted by God, nothing else can get in, no cares, no tribulation, no anxieties. We see now why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worry. How can we dare be so utterly unbelieving when God is round about us? To be haunted by God is to have an effective barricade against all the onslaughts of the enemy."

I'm so glad I had this blog written before reading this. It just confirmed my thoughts and ponderings. I am at peace in my spirit. This is so why we need to have this relationship with an Almighty God that I keep bringing up. We absolutely cannot rely on man.

Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.