ADVENT - “We Need Not Worry”
Happy Tuesday, and welcome back to our Advent Meditation series, where we're spending the days leading up to Christmas reflecting on Jesus Christ and the hope His arrival and eventual return brings us. This week, our time together will focus on the promises of Jesus and how they provide us with enduring hope, unshakable security, and a peace that passes all understanding. Yesterday, we explored Jesus’ promise of rest for our weary souls and how it's found in an abiding relationship with Him. Yet, we often resist slowing down and embracing His rest because worry directs our steps. Jesus speaks into our worry with His next promise that reveals the thoughtful care He provides us. But, before we begin, I want to provide space for you to pause and consider where worry currently occupies your mind and consumes your heart. Then, pray, and declare your desire to trust in God’s faithfulness to you.
Amid the uncertainty of life, we often second guess and doubt God has our best interest at heart. When worry consumes our hearts, we picture an indifferent God. We reason He has little concern for the circumstances we face. It forces us to drift towards questioning God and wondering if He cares. Fueled by faulty thinking, worry produces uncertainty in a mind that has no better alternative. If we allow our minds to focus on the world, we will look around, and fear will take over. Worry will take root, and faith will lose out. When we are afraid, we accuse God of being indifferent: Can't you see what is happening? Do you not care? And it is this question that God delivers another gracious promise in Luke 12, starting in verse 22:
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!
Worrying chokes out the fruitful work of God in our lives. Our need to control our circumstances prevents us from letting go of our worries and anxieties. Endless worrying and constant striving define our lives. Worrying highlights one's perspective by revealing their picture of God. When our concerns convert to worry, we develop an attitude that causes us to function as though God does not exist.
We're often unaware of how fear shapes our response to the world around us. Fear forces, compares, and undermines. It is quick-tempered, easily offended, resists the truth, and chronically makes its case. We will not change our direction if we don't understand and articulate how fear drives our behavior. Likewise, if love doesn't drive out fear, fear will drive everything else.
Worry, concern, anxiety, fright, and panic are different levels of fear, and they all wreak havoc on our walk. The challenge before us is to respond with faith during those moments we have no control over and no knowledge of the result. God has promised us that He will be with us. He invites us to trust that our lives hold value and our circumstances have a purpose.
We must take time to rest and move our hearts and minds into alignment with His, reminding ourselves of His character and faithfulness. The force of Christ's love can govern our behavior and direct our lives. But, we must take time to rest and move our hearts and minds into alignment with His, reminding ourselves of His character and faithfulness. Rest and reflection remind us that we are not in control and, more importantly, we don't have to be.
REFLECT
Before we wrap up our time together, we want to provide you some space to respond to what we read and maybe to what God is trying to say to you. First, take a moment to process this question…Where is worry choking out the fruitful work of God in your life? In what situations are you holding on to your worry?
Another question to consider is this…What would it look like to loosen your grip on this situation and trust in God’s provision, presence, and purposes?
PRAYER
Father God, forgive me for accusing You of not caring. I use my circumstances to justify my response and, as a result, worry rushes in. Lord, I will fix my mind on You and trust that Your peace will guard my heart and mind. All of this is for the sake of Your glory and not my own. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.