“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
September 26, 2024
Worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere. Behavioral psychologists have said this about worry: 40 percent of what we worry about never happens; 30 percent has already passed and worry can’t change it; 12 percent is needless worry about health; and 10 percent of the things we worry about are miscellaneous matters that don't deserve worry. Only about 8 percent of the things that remain could be counted worthy of worry, but those could be divided into two categories: those you can do something about and those you can't.
Now if you can do something about it, do it and quit worrying. If you can't do anything about something, worry is not going to change it. Worry is useless and wasteful. Worry doesn’t take the sorrow out of tomorrow. It takes the joy out of today. Worry pulls tomorrow’s clouds over today’s sunshine. Worry doesn’t help you get ready for tomorrow because God doesn’t give you strength for tomorrow. When you bring tomorrow’s troubles into today, you overload today, and worry is the interest you pay on borrowed trouble. You’re trying to live today’s strength with tomorrow’s troubles, and once you’ve overloaded today, you’re worn out before you get to tomorrow.
Surrender your worries to God and thank Him for His provision.
Just as plants need certain essentials to grow—light, water, and fertile soil—so do new Christians, babes in the faith. Without these essential basic truths of the faith, they will never establish strong roots or bear fruit. What Every Christian Ought to Know is a valuable volume for new Christians and young disciples and a suitably instructive resource for believers of all ages. This new paperback edition includes discussion questions for personal reflection or group study.