Cast Your Cares Aside

"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 than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" — Matthew 6:25-27

As people, we are prone to worry, get pre-occupied, and stress about things that might happen, things we can't control, and general ideas. But that's not what God wants for our lives.

Sometimes there are a confluence of things in my life that make me stop and ask what God is trying to say to me. We have been studying the book "Crazy Love," by Francis Chan, it's a sort of kick in the pants in terms of faith and the way we live our lives. A couple weeks ago the chapter we tackled dealt with the lack of faith that stems from us making too much out of our worry.

Chan writes, "Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives." Think about that for a minute. That's a tough statement.

If we're honest, we've all demonstrated a bit of a lack of faith when it comes to cares and concerns of this world. There probably hasn't been a time that I've assisted in Oasis, our mid-week service, when I haven't referenced casting our cares and concerns on God in the prayer. It's easy to say and comforting to think about, but it can be hard for us to live out consistently.

Look at that passage at the start of this post again. Jesus tells us not to worry, but what should stick out is His last question — "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" The answer should seem obvious. It's no. Worse than that, we probably take minutes off our lives by fretting, tossing and turning when we should be sleeping, and letting the little things consume our days.

I speak from, sadly, ongoing experience. That verse came to mind this week — as did what Chan wrote in the chapter and our recent message about being "1% More Trusting." In my head I know that's right, and in my heart I want to do that more. Putting it into practice can be tough.

It's been a stressful week. I've had a lot of worries that have crept into my mind. I'm sure I'm not alone. But Jesus promises to carry that burden for us, all we have to do is give it up to Him. I just wish letting go wasn't the hardest part for me.