25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
- Matthew 6:25 to 34
Hi
I'd like to share with you something that happened during the preparation of my exams awhile back.
Sometime ago, it was the period of my exams. Before it started I was really scared about how I was going to get through it. There were high expectations of me. So many doubts came creeping into my mind and the pressure kicked in and I was terrified.
But amidst everything I remembered this verse that God spoke to me about sometime ago. It was Matthew 6:34. I decided to read the whole passage the verse came from and when I did God just settled all of my uneasiness.
I grew up in church. And I was taught that God would provide for all our needs. But when I read, “…your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”–it was different! It wasn’t just some children’s church teacher or my mom telling me that “Hey! God provides for you you know!” These were the words of Jesus, our God. And he said specifically to me and he’s saying it to you, “Hey! I provide for you you know! I know what you need so don’t worry man.” It was amazing.
I was sitting in CG one day and we were talking about how Jesus gave His whole life for us. And honestly for a long time, I’ve overlooked this. I mean yes, I knew that it was beyond painful when Jesus was beaten and bruised and then crucified. But I thought about it and it occurred to me that when He died on the cross, Jesus felt the same way another person felt when I hurt that person or thought wrong of that person. Just imagine: the curses you throw at the person who cuts your lane in a terrible jam (for those who drive), the hatred that you have for this friend at school who just cannot stop irritating you, that you feel when you hear stories of kidnappers, animal-abusers, child-abusers, murderers and rapists, and the hatred that you bear against other people. Or maybe the feelings that you have when your parents or your friends or your school teacher looks down on you with disappointment. Jesus felt every single one of these feelings on the cross. And on top of that He was whipped, had his flesh torn, was spat on and was beaten badly. I also learnt that He carried a cross that weighed about 300 pounds. And He overcame all this. This is our Jesus.
Where am I getting with all this? Jesus was not born in vain. He did not die so we could worry. He did not rise from the grave three days later so we could spend our lives hating it. Whatever situation you’re in, whether it’s exams or a problem at home or whatever, remember that God knows what you need. Jesus knows what you need. We just need to let Him take over and do what He has to do.
I do still worry at times. But I am reminded and I find comfort in these verses, that God has it all under control and that He will come through for me. And He did! I didn't get top of the class for my exam results, and I didn't do half as well as my other friends did. But my results were good. And everyone was happy. I wouldn't have done better without Him there guiding me through the papers.
I pray that these verses and words blesses you the same way it blessed me.
Let go and let God. Don’t worry.
"…seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
- Basil
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