Verse of the Day - Matthew 6:27

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" ~ Matthew 6:27 (NIV)

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I had a friend write to me recently, asking for help on how to trust God for the worries of this life, when some in her family are struggling so with life's difficulties. She is new in her walking relationship with God and is struggling with worring and trusting God. Here was my response to her. Perhaps it is what you need to hear today, too. (some things amended to protect privacy...)


Reading God's word helps us understand Him, our sinful selves and His beautiful plan to restore us and the world to what we (as humanity) were before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Knowing God's heart by reading the Bible helps you understand the Person you have placed your faith in. This will help you build the trust in Him that you seek. When you read in the Old Testament of His faithfulness and love and power, I believe you will more willingly turn over those worries to this One, who has all power and undying love and faithfulness. When we look at who could better handle the job of managing our life and the lives of our loved ones -- us or Him -- it becomes almost laughable. We are sooo weak and twisted sometimes in our thoughts and ideas. We are lame, at best, at managing things -- would you agree? That is why we need to seek Him and His counsel, because we are faulty. But He is faultless -- perfect and holy in all He does. So, we come to Him, so that He can help us rest in His managerial leadership. Thinking of Him as a good manager, like in business, is not a bad analogy at all. He knows His stuff, cares about His staff, and has the plan completely under control. You don't have to worry that He'll steer the company in the wrong direction or fall asleep at the wheel. He is the Good Manager, or like it says in John 10, He is the Good Shepherd, who takes care of His sheep...who even lays His life on the line for His sheep, whom He loves.

Re: worry. Jesus says in Matthew 6:27: "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" And it's so true. Here's the thing about control: it's an illusion. We think we are in control of this life, and when circumstances occur that are difficult and stressful, we want to control it. If we can't get our hands on it, we worry about it, because we want to control it. But the reality is that we're not the ones in control. God is. We simply have to come to that realization and accept His sovereignty. We may not understand it, but if we can accept that He is all-powerful and all-knowing and all-loving, then I believe we can come to that point of trust that can help us choose to trust Him instead of choosing to worry.

Faith in God that He exists and believing that Jesus' blood as the perfect sacrifice for our sins brings us into an eternal relationship with God. But that basic faith is different than the daily, hourly trust in God that is developed over time, by exercising it when difficulties arise. So, today, as you think about your family member and their trials, I want you to think about Jesus, the Good Shepherd. I want you to think about His character and abilities as God to manage and guide. Number one concern you should have is whether your family member is trusting God for their life. That is a bigger priority than their circumstances, because our souls are what really matter in this life, bottom line. If they have placed their faith in Jesus, then I urge you to turn your prayers toward their spiritual growth in the midst of the turbulence they're experiencing. When times were rough in my marriage, I sometimes took the righteous path and sought God (which is when I grew spiritually) -- at other times, I got bitter and took the unrighteous path (which is when I fell down spiritually). Turning your prayers toward their spiritual growth in the midst of the process, rather than wanting God to remove the trouble may help you not worry, too.

James 1:2-4 says: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." I'm sure you want this for your family member, that they may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. But gold doesn't get purified without going through the fire. And neither do we. If they are able to go to God in their trials, and be willing to learn from Him the things He needs them to learn, they will come out on the other side of this mess, able to testify about God's faithfulness and love and care for them, because they will see it with their own eyes. And ultimately, they will be able to share what they've learned with others who are going through similar issues that they've faced. 2 Corinthians 1:2-4 says this: "Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." You can pray for their future, that what they gain through this experience will be used for God's glory later, as they're able to share their story with someone else and point them to God, too.

We all need to grow up in these areas, and we just don't learn well without experiencing life, in which we will fall down and get up, fall down and get up. Sometimes we fall down because someone pushed us; sometimes it's because we were running too fast or not watching where we were going; sometimes it's because we went in places we shouldn't have and it was dangerous. Through all of these circumstances, whether by someone else's doing, or by our own, God can use it to help us grow -- in knowledge and wisdom and grace -- if we let Him do the work He needs to do in us.

Love,
Joelene