Monday Morning Worries

It’s Monday morning. I’ve already hit the ground running.

Before 7 am, I’ve washed my sheets, cleaned the bathroom, had my devotions and coffee. Last week was crazy busy and I’m not expecting this week to be any different, so I plan and economize and…in truth, I worry.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

I don’t know if I’ll have all the strength, energy, wisdom, resources, or will-power to complete this week according to my ideals.

When it’s all about me and my resources, it’s deflating, friends.

It’s easy for me to get bogged down before I even start the day. I’ve scribble down our to-do list, a grocery list, a remember list. I have to remember to get this child to skating and this child to work. I like checking things off my lists, declaring them “done.”

And our check lists don’t end on paper. Oh no, we also have these mental check lists as well, a sort of running commentary of all the things that could ever go wrong and threaten to overwhelm us. Am I right? There’s no check box for that list. It’s always there, never done.

We think about all that is before us in the future, all the health and emotional needs around us, the unknowns, the looming bills that need to be paid, that problem in our own life that is still unresolved, that problem in our friend’s life that we feel helpless to counsel never mind fix, that problem in our church, that deficiency in our own life, and how all of these things will affect our kids.

In short, we worry and borrow trouble and it weighs us down.

Jesus knew this tendency in humans and tells us to stop living as though we have no Heavenly Father.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 

yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

Matthew 6:25-32

Of course, this is just one passage that reminds (actually commands us) not to worry. To worry is to question God’s goodness to His own children.

Earlier in Matthew 6 we see there are other things people worry about:

  • some religious people worried about getting the praise of men, so they used religion as a tool to get what they wanted. They played a role for applause, and God saw it and saw through it and declared them hypocrites. To desire the praise of men is to be a glory-thief. Nobody is worthy of praise but our God.
  • We worry about saving money and amassing wealth and luxury, but God tells us that all earthly treasures will eventually rot. The only treasure that last is what we lay up in heaven by serving the Lord here.

I tend to worry when I forget that God takes care of me and is in control. Matthew 6 tells me that God has not forgotten me and He knows everything I need.

This is a comfort! I don’t need to carry these burdens. “Cast your burdens upon the Lord.” Worrying does nothing but weigh me down and keep me focused on the wrong things.

My focus should be–>”Your Heavenly Father.” (Matt. 6:32)

He knows what I need. He knows what my family needs. He knows what my friends need. He sees that problem and can handle it.

He’s faithful.

When I worry, I’ve forgotten my Heavenly Father.Problems are big and He is small in my mind. I’ve dwarfed Him and minimized Him and I doubt He’s amused.

I’m living like an orphan when I have the best Father possible.

He gently reminds me, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” (vs. 33) Stop living for the lesser things (like praise or money). It’s never-satisfying.

Worry is living for the here and now instead of remembering that I’m not made for this world, and I am just a pilgrim here, and my Heavenly Father has called me to a higher calling and to a Kingdom mindset that takes the focus off of self and places it on the majesty and glory of the Lord!

And with that mindset, worry vanishes, just like that.



13 thoughts on “Monday Morning Worries”

  • Fear has been such a hindrance in my life and it’s definitely a battle I need to face frequently! I even wrote about it at the beginning of this year (https://fanciedfreedom.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/a-no-fear-new-year/) and am noticing more now when fear is rearing its head during my day. The more time I spend in God’s word the less I see myself affected by fear but it’s still a a challenge. Homeschooling tends to cause me a lot of fear since my kids’ education is dependent upon what I teach them and what we do at home. Thanks for this encouraging blog post and looking forward to Trillia’s book! 🙂

  • Thank you for the Matthew 6 passage and for your conclusion. I can’t say that I always find worry disappears when I focus on Jesus, but it is put in its place. Or perhaps it turns from worry to healthy concern and care about the future.

  • So true and helpful for me today and this week…the written to-do list, the mental to-do list, the must remember list, the getting overwhelmed just thinking about getting it all done, the trying to get it all done…and so we must change our focus. I love your “definition” of worry – living for the here and now, instead of remembering that I’m not made for this world…another great verse to think about for your post today is “Be still, and know that I am God.”

  • This is sooooo good, Sarah! Something I needed today. Interesting; I pray each day concerning one of my character flaws, look at Scriptures concerning it and so on. Today’s “just happened” to be worry. I am not a worrier as a rule, but lately I have found a tendency toward worry and know I must be addressing it. So neat how your Monday morning post was an answer to my Monday morning prayers!

  • My to-do lost is long today. Thanks for this reminder, that I don’t have to worry and to remember that my Heavenly Father cares for all the details of my life. Blessings!

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