VERSES:
Matthew 6:25-27
25 “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? 26 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? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life [?
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.
MOMENT TO PONDER:
In reviewing all of Matthew 6; I found it to be rich and full of promises. Some of us, myself included, are those persons who struggle with worrying. Some of us find ourselves to the point where we are so concerned about the future to the point of it overwhelming us. One way to ease the anxiety is to consciously choose joy and contentment, even in the period of the unknown, as one of the great weaknesses in faithfulness is the unknown when there is no plan!
But then I remember this verse and I see the promise of God in Matthew 6. And sometimes we see other signs; like a bird. While we cannot say that the bird was a sign from God – but sometimes signs are contingent on how we interpret them. That bird is sending a message, a reminder, a signpost of hope. That bird is not aware of COVID–19 panic. He or she was not anxious about viruses or with building his/her nest, or finding his/her next meal. Birds probably don’t have the capacity to experience anxiety. They exist in a world where their needs will be met, as far as they need to be.
We too operate in such a world. We have the added gift, and sometimes the burden, of having some agency in our lives, where we have been given the role of doing what we can to provide for ourselves. The problem is that sometimes we find ourselves running up against something against which we have no power. A global pandemic, for example. It is in those moments that we are prompted to anxiety and fear. It is then that we forget the bible – Matthew 6. It is then we forget God’s promises.
And even so, God’s promises still stand.
There are many things and situations that make us frightfully/brutally aware of our own inabilities, but in times like this God has not changed. He promised to provide for us and His promises are unbreakable. Look back at our scripture verses above. Jesus said that have no more reasons to worry than the birds of the air, and I invite you to trust Him on that!
At a time when people often have trouble finding reasons to hope, those who place their trust in the God of the Bible, more than ever, “to give to anyone who asks an account of the hope that is in them”. They have to understand what is specific about the hope that comes from faith, in order to root their lives in it. Hope refers to the future. For the Bible. it is rooted in the present. The source of hope is in God, a God who simply loves us, a God who never stops seeking us.
TAKE ACTION:
- Why worry if there is God?
- Explain this bible verse: “Look I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to what they have done”. (Revelation 22:12)
A MOMENT IN PRAYER:
Lord, help me to hear you saying, “I am your hope”. Faithful God; you know the hopes of the helpless, surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. (Psalm 10:17)
Comfort those who are hurting this day. Refresh their hearts Fill me up with hope and give me a tangible reminder today that hope is an unbreakable spiritual lifeline. Help me to see the possibilities that lie ahead and trust in Your divine purpose for our lives. May Your hope shine brightly in our hearts and guide our steps. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN
Contributed by Rev Melrose Wiggan
