25 "If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.
26 Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
27 "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?
28 All this time and money wasted on fashion - do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop,
29 but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30 "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers - most of which are never even seen - don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
31What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving.
32 People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.
33 Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34 "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6:25-34 (check it out in the NIV as well, both are quite good and slightly different)
Now, this is a pretty long passage but I couldn't really trim it down at all without losing a lot of the important stuff. There is also a lot to unpack here, and what I am really focusing on now is verses 32-34. In regards to my mom-purse, am I truly giving "my entire attention to what God is doing right now" and not getting "worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow?" Am I trusting God to help me "deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes?"
My answer would have to be a resounding NO. Being an uber Boy Scout means I am relying on myself to provide for my needs and the needs of those around me. I am not trusting that God has my best interest in mind, and I am not trusting that he can and will take care of me. I'm not even trusting that he knows what my needs are. Once again, I know best and God can take a few lessons from me. Just before this passage in Matthew, there is another verse, Matthew 6:21, which says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (NIV) How can I call myself a Christian when I am putting all my faith and hope in my purse to supply my needs? It has become my treasure, and my heart cannot wholeheartedly be in two places at once. If my treasure is my purse, my heart finds its purpose in my purse. That may be one of the saddest sentences I have ever written or said.
So, what is the purpose of the magnet on my fridge? It is supposed to remind me that what Psalm 91 says is true. "'Because he loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'" (Psalm 91:14-16) If I love God and trust him to take care of me, he will do that and more. I want to be one that "dwells in the shelter of the Most High" and "will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (vs 1) I want to say, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (vs 2) When I got the magnet, I had come to a point in my life where on a larger, philosophical level I was able to actually put more trust in God. I thought I had come a long way until I started realizing that my mom-purse problem meant I still had a long way to go. Now, the magnet is taking on a different meaning for me. It says to me, "Do the sparrows depend on your purse for survival or does God take care of their every need without it? If they can do it, why can't you?"
Now, this is a pretty long passage but I couldn't really trim it down at all without losing a lot of the important stuff. There is also a lot to unpack here, and what I am really focusing on now is verses 32-34. In regards to my mom-purse, am I truly giving "my entire attention to what God is doing right now" and not getting "worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow?" Am I trusting God to help me "deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes?"
My answer would have to be a resounding NO. Being an uber Boy Scout means I am relying on myself to provide for my needs and the needs of those around me. I am not trusting that God has my best interest in mind, and I am not trusting that he can and will take care of me. I'm not even trusting that he knows what my needs are. Once again, I know best and God can take a few lessons from me. Just before this passage in Matthew, there is another verse, Matthew 6:21, which says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (NIV) How can I call myself a Christian when I am putting all my faith and hope in my purse to supply my needs? It has become my treasure, and my heart cannot wholeheartedly be in two places at once. If my treasure is my purse, my heart finds its purpose in my purse. That may be one of the saddest sentences I have ever written or said.
So, what is the purpose of the magnet on my fridge? It is supposed to remind me that what Psalm 91 says is true. "'Because he loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.'" (Psalm 91:14-16) If I love God and trust him to take care of me, he will do that and more. I want to be one that "dwells in the shelter of the Most High" and "will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (vs 1) I want to say, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (vs 2) When I got the magnet, I had come to a point in my life where on a larger, philosophical level I was able to actually put more trust in God. I thought I had come a long way until I started realizing that my mom-purse problem meant I still had a long way to go. Now, the magnet is taking on a different meaning for me. It says to me, "Do the sparrows depend on your purse for survival or does God take care of their every need without it? If they can do it, why can't you?"
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