Imagine the following scenarios.
First Scenario
Kelly’s son, John, is struggling in school. He has been failing his assessments and the PSLE is looming. Dismayed at his lack of progress, John is at a quandary as to what to do. His mood has changed from being cheerful to being sullen and unresponsive. Kelly’s heart sank at what was happening.
Second Scenario
Matt has not been feeling well for some time. His doctor suspects that it may be due to cancer. In fact, Matt went for an MRI test last week. Tomorrow, he will see his oncologist to receive the result. It is now 3am and he is unable to sleep and tosses in bed with his mind churning…
Third Scenario
Steven has been through a lot lately. He has been falsely accused of committing a serious crime. He has experienced the agony of being involved in a three-week criminal trial. Tomorrow, he will return to court to receive the judgement. Now, he stares into open space feeling numb…
Brothers and sisters, how did Kelly, Matt and Steven respond to their respective predicament? Well, their response was a common one, which was to worry and this pounded against their hearts. Worry is like an insidious virus that can immobilize us.
In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus provides sound reasons as to why we should not worry but instead put our trust in God:
First, Jesus says, “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25).
Second, He says, by worrying, we show a lack of trust in God. If God can take care of the birds, He will surely take care of us (Matthew 6:26). If God can clothe the flowers of the field, He will surely clothe us. Why? Because we are His children and precious to Him (Matthew 6:28-30).
Third, He says worrying is useless and unproductive (Matthew 6:27). It gnaws at one’s soul and achieves nothing. It can also affect our health.
How do we increase our trust in God? We need to deepen our relationship with Him. As we know Him more deeply, we will be transformed. We will taste more of His goodness and our trust in Him will blossom.
How then do we engage with God? In fact, He is the one who will reach out to us. The question is: Will you respond?