“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:33–34 (NIV)
I ought to get a PhD in Worrying. I worry about things loooooong before they happen and loooooong after they’re done. I worry about the right words to say to someone. I worry about waiting in line. I worry about getting lost. I worry about spending too much money. I worry about getting sick.
Lately I’ve been realizing how ungodly worry is—how worrying is actually not trusting God. I worry about the right words to say because I don’t trust God to give me those words. I worry about waiting in line because I don’t trust God to help me get everything done that day. I worry about getting lost because I don’t trust God to be right there with me when I turn onto a random side street. I worry about spending too much money because I don’t trust God to nudge my conscience before I pull out my wallet. I worry about getting sick because I don’t trust God to heal me.
Rather than spending my energy on worrying, I need to focus on what God wants me to do. This could be something big like whether to move to a new state, or it could be something as small as to host a women’s Bible study at my home one week. If I “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,” if I focus on Jesus’ will and my obedience to Him, He’ll take care of the rest. “All these things will be given to you” means that Jesus will make sure everything turns out for the best.
Faith step: Take a few moments to pray and release your worry to Jesus. Even if you have to do this a hundred times a day, what matters is that each time you do it, you’re telling Jesus, “I trust You.”