Magnifying the Lord, Or Anxiety?
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:34
Jesus told us not to be anxious about tomorrow, yet that’s easier said than done isn’t it? Some days it’s all you can manage to do, just stress and worry about what comes next. What comes next? No one knows. All these plans, all these trips, all these graduations, all these weddings- simply everything put on hold. It’s not what we expected, it’s certainly not what we want, but it’s where we find ourselves. Now that we are placed here, where do we go? In these uncertain times, in the middle of a global pandemic (never would have imagined that being our reality), it’s difficult not to mourn all the plans we had in mind. It’s hard not to feel disappointed over the idea we had in our head of how things would be this year. So, we fret, we stress, we feel anxious of time lost and the uncertainty of the unknown.
Dear readers, I’m here to tell you that this time is not wasted or lost. God is giving us all a lesson on patience, on priorities, on trust, on kindness towards our neighbor, on faith. He’s trying to grow something in us in this season of rest that we can take with us into the world and share with others. Maybe you’re thinking, “well it doesn’t feel like rest? Stuck at home and going crazy with my thoughts, but not well rested.” It’s hard not to have thoughts that bounce around in our minds all day, driving us straight into anxiety. When our focus is on our problems, they seem overwhelming. When our focus is on God, we give ourselves the opportunity to trust Him and know that He is with us, bringing us peace in the storm.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3
Psalms 34:3 says, “Oh magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” When you magnify God instead of the fears surrounding you, He becomes bigger, and your fears become smaller. When you shift your perspective to Him, your focus changes and therefore your mood changes, your worries, your trust, your heart. Readers, let us magnify God and exalt Him together. We don’t know what comes next, but we know we have breath in our lungs, we know we are still here, alive, and that is enough to be grateful for. That is enough to praise Him. Tomorrow was never promised to us. We have such a strong desire to simply know everything. Acts 1:7 says, “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”” We are not meant to know. That’s where faith steps in and blooms. When we can open up our palms and let go of the need to know, we can receive that rest that only confidence in God can bring. We can admit we don’t know what comes next, but we don’t need to know when we trust the hand who moves it all. We’re so busy looking for a solution, but what we need is a source. God’s job is tomorrow, our job is today. Don’t worry about what comes next, but trust that God is with you and He is working for you when you choose to let Him.
I know, you might read this and think that even though it sounds nice, it’s hard to apply to your life. I started writing this blog post a couple of days before my husband and I found out he had tested positive for corona virus. Talk about finding it difficult to apply this to your life! The morning before my husband went to take the test, I was so anxious I had a panic attack. I hadn’t realized I’d been so focused on my fears, that I’d taken my eyes off of the peace that only abiding in God can bring. Now you’re finding that what you were preaching to others, you’re having to preach to yourself. The Lord will humble you and guide you back into His presence. There’s this idea sometimes that life as a believer is easier, but that’s not true. Things don’t get easier, God makes you stronger.
“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5.
He never said we wouldn’t have troubles in this life, but He did promise that He would always be with us. John 16:33 says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Now my husband is feeling much better, but I have no idea what tomorrow brings, what the next five years will bring, or anything after that for that matter. Only God does. I’m placing my faith in Him and trusting that what for what I can’t see ahead, He’s already there working. I’m trusting that my God will provide like He always has. In the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar made the decision to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into a burning furnace because they would not bow down to worship the false god he had made. They declared, “He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18). You see, they didn’t worship God because of what He could do for them, but because He is God and worthy of praise. It’s not about what He can do for you, but about who He is to you. They declared that even if God didn’t grant them what they desired, He was still good, and they would still praise Him.
Can we still trust God even though things aren’t turning out the way we wanted? Can we still praise Him and say He is good even though we can’t see what lies ahead? Can He spread a table for us in the wilderness (Psalm 78:19) and provide out here in this unknown territory? Yes, yes indeed.
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? 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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 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 you 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 after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:25-33