Why Worry?

How could we talk about parables without mentioning the birds of the air and lilies of the field. Jesus speaks of them in Matthew 6 when He explains why we should not worry. We all do it, don’t we?

I had to not worry in the hospital because I was in ICU a long time, I was reassuring my mother but I knew she was worried. You can see it in faces and hear it in voices. There is a cartoon showing two birds talking about a person and wondering why they are worried. One suggested that it was was not knowing the Father.

While that is cute and true enough, even knowing the Father doesn’t automatically free us from worry. We have to choose not to. Jesus said of the birds that the Father feeds them. I have been an avid birdwatcher in the past. In Atlanta, I had flowers and an angel birdfeeder, and in the morning, I watched the bluebirds, cardinals and mourning doves come to eat, I even had a woodpecker, and hummingbirds. I fed them, but there were also plenty of food naturally.

When I moved further south, I fed them for a while, but the lilies of my field were eaten by ants, and the summer heat got the best of a lot of flowers, but not knockout roses and azaleas. Then, I had started blogging, that took up a lot of my time. I was worried learning about computers. That was wrong. I still don’t know everything but I know who does.

We all worry about looks, weight, money, health, our friends and families but Jesus says not to? Why worry? It does not change things while prayer does. We are worth many sparrows and the lilies are dressed better than Solomon and now the one greater than Solomon is telling us not to worry. I think we should listen, don’t you? But let’s let Him tell us again, so worry will not creep into our hearts and minds, not from others, the enemy or even ourselves.

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. ” – Jesus, Matthew 6:24-34, New Living Translation.

Other versions use anxious. How often do fear and anxiety stem from worry? Worrying did not add to my life, Jesus did. And He knew what I needed before did, and the Father made a way for me, when there was no way. I may not be as free from worry as I would like to be but I know how to rely on Jesus when it would try to get to me, let me pray for us today.

Father, we ask to be delivered and forgiven from the evil that is the sin of worry. We are your children and you set us above the birds and flowers, and we set you Son above us, the name above all names including, fear, anxiety and worry, and all sicknesses and diseases, persecutions and afflictions, every demonic attack.

We are not serving two masters, we love you and know you loves us, and provide for us. Just as I see the sparrows foraging fries and building nests beside the grocery store, so do you provide for us and we give thanks and praise, in Jesus name.

Nickolay Draganov / Pexels/ Canva