I Quit - Pt 5

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. (Luke 12:22-31 ESV). You have often heard me quote an adage I have developed through the years: Never let past failures or future fears rob you of present joy. We continue our series in surrender and today we will look at the fear of the future. Many of us would have to confess that we aren’t anxious about anything except our anxieties! “I can resist anything except temptation,” quipped Oscar Wilde. As we allow our fears to control us, we tend to see the worst of any circumstance and our imaginations run amuck. We think of all the bad things that could happen and then spend our time trying to figure out how to avoid or overcome them. We create countless worst-case scenarios and try to imagine what we would do if they ever happen. But in these scenarios, is God ever present? If we’re honest, we’d admit that we usually don’t include God in our “problem solving” because we think we can handle it ourselves. That’s not surrender. In our reading today Jesus talks about the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. These two innocuous creations are a marvel to us of the care and concern of God. Of all the millions of birds in the air, God is concerned for each one, individually. Not one will go without food as he provides it for all of them. The flowers of the field are adorned with a beauty that is greater than Solomon in all his glory. And, they are little more than starter fuel for our campfires! God provides for them. He WILL provide for his children much greater. God doesn’t want us to be worried about the future. We need to trust that our future is in his good and capable hands. Surrender is the intentional trust of our God to provide the best we could imagine for our future. Plan, be wise, and exercise caution when necessary; however, know he will give us victory!