God’s Got It Under Control
We can’t turn on the news or look at our favorite news page, without some news about the Coronavirus or some manner of negative thing that is peripheral to it happening. Americans with their usual grim humor have all manner of jokes about it, we manage to do that with about any bad thing that happens. One of the ones that stood out to me is that we have put 2020 on hold and just need to skip ahead to next year. To be honest, I don’t have that much money to retire on, and I am not looking forward to reading about my account at the end of this month. But in the midst of all of it, the Holy Spirit’s strong voice in my heart says, God’s got it under control.
He always has had it under control.
He always has had it under control. Moses reminded us in Psalm 90:1,2, “Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God”. He has always been our dwelling place, always been our home. His people have been through every manner of trial since the Fall in the Garden of Eden, and He has remained our constant. God’s got it under control.
Worry Factors God Out of the Equation
We’d rather worry. It is what we do naturally. I don’t know why but somehow worrying about something makes us have a sense that somehow we have things under control. But worry factors God out of the equation. A Christian counselor friend of mine said it this way. “Anxiety is what you get when you face an impossible situation with God factored out of the equation”. We believe that with God all things are possible, so when we declare something is impossible, we have just factored God out of it.
Safety and Security
Safety and security are only a couple of the things we worry about. Let’s consider a couple of things that the Lord Jesus Christ said about these in particular.
“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? 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?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 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! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:25-34).
God Knows What We Need
He mentions all our basic needs. God has got this, God knows what we need, and He cares for us. Worrying adds absolutely nothing to us but misery, and maybe a headache or a stomachache. God’s got it under control. He cares for the birds, He cares for the flowers, don’t we know that He cares for us?
Jesus pointed out that “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). The other day I saw a dead bird, one of these little sparrows, and the spot on the window of the church where he met his fate. I looked at him and wondered, “Did God notice this one?” You know He did. God’s got it under control.
Why Do We Worry?
We just need to be reminded of this, again and again. He has been there, had our back so many times, why do we worry that He won’t do it this time? God’s got it under control.
We need to deliberately choose not to worry, and to pray to Him instead. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7). Bad stuff does happen, we know that, but we can have peace, instead of anxiety. God’s got it under control. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Chasing Sunsets – Pastor Clay’s Devotions
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