“Don’t worry” – are you kidding me?
posted on Oct 19, 2008
“Don’t worry” – are you kidding me?
So much is happening around us. Wall Street is reeling. “Don’t worry”. Up one day and dropping like a rock the next. Recently we’ve witnessed the biggest one day loss in history as the Dow dropped to an all record low. “Don’t worry”. The mortgage companies have been taking it on the chin for quite some time, and lately we’ve seen some large banks fail and others merge. And yet Jesus tells us, “Don’t worry”.
When Jesus said these words the days weren’t as hard, as tough or as troubling as they are today, right? Or were they? In the first century the average life span was 35 – 40 years, there was no health care system, no welfare system, no unemployment, no Medicare and no AARP. The government was not talking about bailing out the troubles of the day, the government was adding to the troubles of life in Jesus day. And yet he said, “Don’t worry”. But life is hard. “Don’t worry”. But there’s not enough to eat. “Don’t worry”. But where will I find a job. “Don’t worry”. “Don’t worry”.
And yet in Matthew 6 Jesus told those listening to him, “So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not. Don’t worry about my life? “That’s just not reality today” is a thought I think most of us struggle with, maybe more than we like to admit. Why?
We have become too self sufficient and self reliant in our day. Jesus makes a point that the birds don’t neither plant or harvest into barns, and yet God knows their needs exactly. In another place Jesus compares the insignificant value of a sparrow to the immeasurable value of our lives, and then reminds us that if God cares for little things like sparrows how much more does he care for us. “Don’t worry”. Our God will supply.
Someone said to me the other day, “No matter what the stock market does, the birds are going to keep flying.” There’s a lot of wisdom in that thinking. Why do the birds keep flying? Because that’s what birds do. They don’t fret. They don’t worry. They fly. And they trust the one who made them to fly to feed and care for them every day. No matter what happens on Wall Street.
Our worry over the economic conditions will not “add a single moment to your life”. So don’t. God knows exactly what this day and the next day and the next hold for us. He has our future in his hands. He will carry us through this financial crisis, economic downturn, pending recession, or whatever term you have found yourself using to describe the days we’ve seen lately. Trust His faithfulness to you in your past to be His guarantee of His continuing faithfulness to you and your family as we press on into His future.
Remember, the future is bright for us, for our God is already there. “Don’t worry” is good advice and a great way to live when you know who holds the future.
Pastor, Rev. Mark Ziegler with his wife Cindy.
Pastor Mark Ziegler is pastor of Desert Cross Community church in Phoenix, AZ. Visit their website at www.dc3fmc.org