Worried?

The cares of this world are destructive to my spiritual life. They can choke the very Word of God out of me so that I bear no spiritual fruit . . .

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Matthew 13:22)

Or they can press me to worry so much about daily necessities that I lose sight of the providence of God.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)

Chambers presents the challenge: will the cares of this world be a priority? Or is the Lord God and my relationship with Him my first consideration?

He says it is wrong to worry. I agree. Worry means I don’t think God is in charge and He cannot look after the practical details of life. It is not the devil that chokes the Word in me, but the little worries of daily life.

God calls me to trust Him in everything. I cannot see Him; but the cares of this world are in my face, even little things like what to make for supper, how to deal with a crabby neighbor, when to plan the garden, and a host of other things. I cannot see God’s hand all the time, yet He calls me to walk by faith, not by sight, nor by my own wits.

The cares of this world are not always little things either. My heart is still in A-fib, not seriously, but not normal either. When I drift toward anxiety, I say, “Jesus, I gave my heart to You. It is your heart; You take care of it” —my reminder not to be anxious. What good would that do?

My neighbor had a flood in her basement yesterday. Finding the cause took most of the day and lots of help from my incredible hubby. (Hers is out of province.) The water flow is finally off, but the finished basement is ruined and will need to be gutted and redone. She is a Christian. Is she anxious about the cares of this life? I have no doubt that a big knot sits plumb in the middle of her middle. But she did ask us to pray. She knows where her help comes from.

We all deal with daily cares. The big things, like illness, accidents, fires, floods, and death come by less often, yet I’m learning something; trusting God with the little cares of life is far more helpful than waiting for the big ones to trust Him. The habit of trust works better by starting small.

We have company coming today. I will not be anxious about lunch for them, what to do with their three dogs, offering them the use of our bath/shower after weeks of camping, or the conversation we will have in today’s rainy weather. These are the cares of this world, but God is sufficient.

Our neighbor will be moving furniture and other possessions, and tearing up carpet all day, needing grace to deal with insurance people, the builder and plumbing company whose error caused the problem, and her own need to not be anxious about the cares of this world.

She may have the greater challenge regarding those pesky ‘cares’ but both of us worship the same powerful God who can guide us through, big or small, because we trust Him.