24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. 25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 “Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6)
Didn’t take me long to get back to the grind of life, after coming home from a mission trip to a country where people are so much poorer than I am. Had a near meltdown last night after paying all the bills left behind before we left and finding out, that not all our days away were covered by my husbands job, so less money was coming in, quite a bit less. I resorted back to my normal reaction of fear, worry and control. I punched numbers, fretted, went line by line through how to conserve. Figured out ways to spend less, nagged my precious husband. Got myself all stirred up, as well as everyone else in the house, only to come to the realization that it is what it is. Things are super tight right now and I just need to trust God.
I had to chuckle to myself when I saw what the Daily Bible Reading was for me today. Matthew 6. One particular phrase jumped out at me in this very familiar Scripture this morning. “You cannot serve God and wealth. 25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life.
I realized that my worry was kinda like trying to serve two masters. I have just seen my Lord God heal the sick, cast out demons and lead thousands to Christ in a foreign land, and here I am worried about my finances. If God can do all that why am I worried about money. our future, and retirement plans or empty savings accounts. This same God who worked miracles in India, right in front of my very eyes, and even through insignificant me…This same God has got my finances under his power, love and authority too.
I realized this morning that “FOR THIS REASON, the fact that God is in control, and the fact that I am to have no others gods before me; for these reasons, I need not worry about my life. We drove around in India and saw many idols, useless, false, powerless gods that people worshipped. I realized this morning that to worry over my finances was kinda like worshipping the false god of money.
So Precious Almighty Father in Heaven, you know what we need before we even ask. You know our futures and our pasts. I ask Your forgiveness for my idol worship of money. I praise You for how you worked in India and for how You have always provided for me. Thank You for Your precious Faithfulness to Your promises us. I praise You that I am Yours and that You are now mine, as Savior, provider and friend. All Glory and Praise to Jehovah Jireh, Our Provider. I lay all this at Your feet, I lay my future at Your feet, I lay myself down at Your feet. Amen and Amen.
hisshadowings.com 