I Wonder
With Rebecca Quee
Matthew 6:25-34 25
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[g] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 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 you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Honestly, you could dwell on the first eleven words of this passage for ages. Imagine if we could get to a place where we deeply knew and understood the truth of those words. Go back and read it again, close your eyes for a minute and think about it. Imagine not worrying about your life, any of it! It’s extremely freeing. We serve a God who holds our lives, and the whole universe, in His hands. How safe we can feel because of that. But it isn’t always easy to remember or to even grasp what that means. Life throws ridiculous things at everyone, all the time; just look at 2020! But I believe we can look ahead with faith, even when the circumstances look strange and we feel out of control. The Lord sees further than we do, He sees it all, so why not trust that He’s going to sort it out?
A few years ago, the Lord said to me that I could wonder about my life, but not worry. I don’t need to worry, neither do you. Take a moment to read the passage again. Wondering implies possibility and faith and curiosity. So anytime I find worry creeping in, I stop for a minute, think about these verses and switch my mind to wondering, and instead ask the Lord questions. For example, “I wonder if Covid-19 will ever disappear…” instead of “I worry Covid-19 will never go away…” – who are we to know? Think about the things you’re worried about right now, write them down and then write a wondering question instead, and then ask the Lord to speak and allow Him to release you of those worries.
We all know that life can be difficult, that it’s not always easy to just let go of worrying or fully trust the Lord. I’m not dismissing the reality of life on Earth. But I have a deep knowing that I do not need to worry about my life. I encourage you to take the time to let that passage sink in, even just the first eleven words. Say them over and over, write down your thoughts, let it sit deep within your heart and mind, until it becomes truth you can fully believe.
While we can’t meet all together just yet, join us as we continue to build community this month at C3 London at 10:00 at C3 London Online.