Today’s first reading from 2 Chronicles is a story of what happens when we abandon God. Read the story and you’ll see that it is not good. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus talks about worry, and how we need to live for today.
Have you ever met a worry-wart? Someone who worries about everything? They seem to go through life with a feeling of dread, as though nothing is ever going to go right. The worst-case scenario is their best friend. Jesus speaks clearly about worry today. “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.” He goes on to ask an important (and rhetorical) question: “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?” Quite the opposite is true. Excessive worry will actually help to put us in an early grave.
So, why do we worry? I think it is because we don’t have complete control of a situation. Or perhaps it is fear of the unknown. The reasons are many. But I think they all boil down to one thing: a lack of trust in God. None of us like to think that we suffer from that malady, but we all do to some extent. You know the old saying, “Let go and let God.” It’s very true. When we let go and let God, worry disappears.
Father, teach us to trust in you. Give us the confidence to know that we don’t need to worry about anything, because you’ve got it all under control. Amen.
Each day I pray to our Lord to lift this burden of worry and give it unto Him. He has been so good to me, but for some reason this burdensome worry sticks in my gut. I pray each day for God to open my heart’s ears so that I might hear Him and follow His words. Patience, my Lord, give me patience. Amen.