Read: Luke 12:22-34
Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (v. 25)
Many of us would have to confess that we aren’t anxious about anything except our worries. As Oscar Wilde quipped, “I can resist anything except temptation.” In order to surrender all, we have to overcome our fear of not knowing what lies ahead. We have to give our fears and worries to God.
Worry usually looks something like this: As we allow our fears to prevail, we tend to let our imaginations run loose. We think of all the bad things that could happen and then spend our time trying to figure out how to avoid or overcome them. We create countless worst-case scenarios and try to imagine what we would do if they ever happen. But in these scenarios, is God ever present? If we’re honest, we’d admit that we usually don’t include God in our “problem solving” because we think we can handle it ourselves. That’s not surrender.
In today’s reading, Jesus’s instructions to his disciples are clear. Fear and worry will not add a single hour to your life. God knows your needs, and God cares for you. We need to trust that our future is in his good and capable hands. Put into practice what Peter instructed, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Don’t let your imagination dwell on “what-ifs.”
As you pray, ask God to help you surrender all your fears and worries to him.
About the Author
Jessica Heikoop was a writer and editor from Ontario, Canada. Beloved by her family and community, she died in 2013 at the age of 31.
