2020 Daily Devotion - Day 15
Wednesday, April 8, 2020
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
Matthew 6:28-34 RSV
It is so easy for us to be filled with worry; especially at a time like this with the Coronavirus pandemic. Our concerns and worries often make us spin out of control. One of the reasons is because we think the solutions are up to us. So, we dwell on the worst that could happen. We feed our minds with dire predictions.
There is an old Native American tale which recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. "It is like two dogs fighting inside of us," the chief told them. "There is one good dog who wants to do the right thing and the other dog always wants to do the wrong thing. Sometimes the good dog seems stronger and is winning the fight. But sometimes the bad dog is stronger and is winning the fight."
"Who is going to win in the end?" a young brave asked.
The chief answered, "The one you feed."
We need to be reminded to feed the dog in us called Faith and the other one called Hope. God isn’t done. He is in charge.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, too often we focus on the negative. Not only do we focus on the negative, but we also dwell on all of the things that could go wrong. We forget that You are in charge. Forgive us and help us to cling to Your words of promise that you will never abandon us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”
Matthew 6:28-34 RSV
It is so easy for us to be filled with worry; especially at a time like this with the Coronavirus pandemic. Our concerns and worries often make us spin out of control. One of the reasons is because we think the solutions are up to us. So, we dwell on the worst that could happen. We feed our minds with dire predictions.
There is an old Native American tale which recounts the story of a chief who was telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within. "It is like two dogs fighting inside of us," the chief told them. "There is one good dog who wants to do the right thing and the other dog always wants to do the wrong thing. Sometimes the good dog seems stronger and is winning the fight. But sometimes the bad dog is stronger and is winning the fight."
"Who is going to win in the end?" a young brave asked.
The chief answered, "The one you feed."
We need to be reminded to feed the dog in us called Faith and the other one called Hope. God isn’t done. He is in charge.
Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, too often we focus on the negative. Not only do we focus on the negative, but we also dwell on all of the things that could go wrong. We forget that You are in charge. Forgive us and help us to cling to Your words of promise that you will never abandon us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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