Corona Devo 714
I was a wreck.
And I wasn't even driving! My husband is the best driver I know, and he calmly took each mile slow and steady. But I was praying, bracing myself, asking him nervously if he'd like to listen to music/a sermon/a book/or anything to pass the time and miles and get our minds and worries off the road and weather.
But he was fine. Focused and careful, he told me that he was "reviewing Bible verses in his head", and then he very politely asked me if I wanted to go in the back seat to "help our daughter study".
I am pretty sure my nervousness was the worst part of his drive, and so I climbed to the back of the van.
The rain still came down in sheets, the visibility was still zero, but somehow the "view" from the backseat, amongst our three children was completely different.
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 18:3
Our kids laughed. They were teasing each other, sticking feet in faces, grabbing ankles and revealing hidden storehouses of candy in seatback pockets...all the things you might expect about three hours into a drive. They weren't nervous at all about the weather or the road conditions. They trusted their dad at the wheel, and they were busy having fun along the way.
Nothing at all had changed, but the difference between me in the front seat and them in the backseat was their "child-like" faith. They were not worrying about life like I was, and as I relented into a reluctant laugh from someone tickling my feet, I realized we were going to be okay.
We were always going to be okay, but it took childlike faith and the non-stressing/lack-of-worry/un-anxiety of our kids to remind me that if I am wrapped up into a tense-ball of worry, then I am not trusting my Heavenly Father at all.
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? (27) Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
(28) “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, (29) yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. (30) And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
(31) “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ (32) These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. (33) Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
(34) “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. ~Matthew 6:25-34
~~~~~
I'm not sure when we "graduate" from giggles in the backseat to nail-biting in the front seat (of life), but it is not a sign of maturity, and God's word indicates that worry is actually a clear sign of faithlessness (Why do you have so little faith? Matthew 6:30).
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? ~Matthew 6:27
My worries didn't make the drive shorter or the rain less heavy, and they certainly didn't add a single moment to my life. In fact, our worries and anxieties subtract a lot of good moments from our lives, because we miss out on the good things when we are steeped in worry.
It sounds like such an elementary teaching, but God must have known that worry is a vice for many of us, or else he wouldn't have spent time teaching us about it in His Word.
Today, let's change our mindset. We are God's children, and we must re-train our "mature" brains to worry-less and to change and become like little children (or...you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 18:3).
We can trust our (Heavenly) Dad at the wheel of our lives, and in-doing-so, we can get busy having fun along the way.
This road trip of (earthly) life doesn't go on forever, and I don't want to miss a single moment.
Blessings,
Sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
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