Today’s Readings: Psalm 142; Numbers 22:41-23:12; Matthew 6:25-34; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; Psalm 128
This fall I got an amazing lesson in what it means to live into Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel reading. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now,” Jesus said, “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 6:34 from The Message). You see two months ago we learned there was a good chance my partner’s position at work might be eliminated. We weren’t sure what the timeline in the decision-making process was so we didn’t know from one day to the next whether or not he would still have a job. In addition, both of our health insurance is tied to his position so we didn’t know if we would be joining the ranks of the uninsured as well. Needless to say, I had never been in a place before where I lived in such constant stress for such a prolonged period of time. Let me say it was one of the most emotionally exhausting periods of my life. What I noticed is that gradually I began to slowly let go of the worry and live into Jesus’ words. I learned to slow let go of the things that lie beyond our control and focus on what was really important: today. After the first month (yes, I’m a slow learner) I could say I really believed that God would “help us deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Thankfully, the situation was resolved this week when we learned that my partner still had a position in their new re-structuring. Although the position didn’t pay quite as well, there was MUCH less stress involved in his duties so things worked out very well. As I look back, I realized the experience provided me with a valuable opportunity to “study” scripture in a different way. Instead of sitting back with a pile of books around me and contemplating God’s wisdom embedded in printed words, I had the chance to literally dive into those words and experience them first hand. What an amazing and transformative experience! Perhaps there is a part of your life where worry has threatened to creep in and overtake you: a financial crisis, a health scare, a broken relationship – you name it. If that’s the case, I would encourage you to not simply re-read today’s Gospel passage but to work on living into it. It may take a while, but I guarantee that the effort will be worth it. Til next time…
This fall I got an amazing lesson in what it means to live into Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel reading. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now,” Jesus said, “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 6:34 from The Message). You see two months ago we learned there was a good chance my partner’s position at work might be eliminated. We weren’t sure what the timeline in the decision-making process was so we didn’t know from one day to the next whether or not he would still have a job. In addition, both of our health insurance is tied to his position so we didn’t know if we would be joining the ranks of the uninsured as well. Needless to say, I had never been in a place before where I lived in such constant stress for such a prolonged period of time. Let me say it was one of the most emotionally exhausting periods of my life. What I noticed is that gradually I began to slowly let go of the worry and live into Jesus’ words. I learned to slow let go of the things that lie beyond our control and focus on what was really important: today. After the first month (yes, I’m a slow learner) I could say I really believed that God would “help us deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Thankfully, the situation was resolved this week when we learned that my partner still had a position in their new re-structuring. Although the position didn’t pay quite as well, there was MUCH less stress involved in his duties so things worked out very well. As I look back, I realized the experience provided me with a valuable opportunity to “study” scripture in a different way. Instead of sitting back with a pile of books around me and contemplating God’s wisdom embedded in printed words, I had the chance to literally dive into those words and experience them first hand. What an amazing and transformative experience! Perhaps there is a part of your life where worry has threatened to creep in and overtake you: a financial crisis, a health scare, a broken relationship – you name it. If that’s the case, I would encourage you to not simply re-read today’s Gospel passage but to work on living into it. It may take a while, but I guarantee that the effort will be worth it. Til next time…
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