Passage of the Day: Matthew 6: 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 important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”
My Journal for Today: Yes, same verse from yesterday, repeated today! And again we read Jesus teaching His followers (and by extension to you and me) about the essence of living as a Christian … that our focus should not be on our bodily, temporal, or worldly needs.
John MacArthur helps his readers today in Strength for Today (that’s me!) to understand that Jesus’ statement is an argument from the greater to the lesser. In other words, … if God gives me life, He will sustain my life … ergo, … there is no reason for me to worry about my bodily sustenance which is only part of life. And we have to remember that this lesson was being taught to people in Jesus’ day who were living in the edge, experiencing such things as severe draught, possible bad crops, occasional insect infestations, … all of which could produce famine or loss of income … and maybe even loss of home.
So this teaching by Jesus would have been much tougher for His audience of that day than it would be now for you and me; and you and I both know that it’s a hard saying even now. I read this with essentially no temporal fear of losing everything like some of those who heard Jesus teaching these truths back then on that hillside. And yet, these words are still true for me; and I’m convicted that I, all too often, find myself worrying about the clothes I wear or making sure I’ve got enough money in the bank or in investments to cover tomorrow’s contingencies. My risks may not be for losing my home to bad crops; but my worry is just as sinful for me as it was for those who didn’t trust God for their needs in Jesus’ day.
I’m convicted that I need to rely more-and-more on THE Provider of my life and everything involved in my life. He is Jehovah-Jireh; and HE is my Provider. And I pray that one day I can come to a place where I reflexively trust my Lord for all I need in life, seeking Him first and foremost in all things (again see Matt. 6: 33).
My Prayer Today: I seek You first, Lord; help me to seek You first and trusting in You always! Amen
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment