Don’t Worry… Be Happy
Why We Worry – Part III
Scripture Reading: Matthew 6:25-34
Key Verse: Matthew 6:25 NLT
“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?”
In yesterday’s devotional, we looked at the fact that Jesus was not condemning people with money nor honoring people because they were poor. Jesus challenges His followers to live content with what our Father supplies us.
If you are content with what you have in this life, you are not anxious about whether good things come your way. If you are not content, then there is an anxiousness about whether you will get those things.
In other words, a desire for things that cause you to worry has become too important to you as a Christ-follower. Jesus leaves no room for confusion about how we are to live: “This is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life…”.
Since all of us have found ourselves worrying about something we are hoping comes our way, what do we do when we realize that we are worrying?
The moment we catch ourselves feeling anxious about something we want to happen, pray what Jesus prayed in the last days of His life. This prayer was on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus often went to pray. Jesus knew the kind of death He was facing, and He was desperately praying that this type of death might not happen:
“He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” (Luke 22:44 NLT)
Jesus knew that it was okay to greatly desire something and to ask the Father for that desire. But do not miss the foundation under this request:
“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke 22:42 NLT)
Here we see the surrender of Jesus to the desires of His Father in heaven. It is here that Jesus showed contentment in living out the will of God, His Father.
No matter how much we want something to happen, we must learn that God’s will is always the better path for our lives. We can tell God how much we want something, but to stay in fellowship with Him, we must decide that it is His will for our lives that we want most. Once we truly believe He loves us and wants the best for us, we can easily say, “not my will but your will be done”.
Father, I believe that You would never harm me and always want the best for me. Remind me about Your love and help me live content with what You supply me. In Jesus’s Name I pray, amen.