Things Are About to Change

It's funny.  Melissa and I have had our hopes up about getting started in Haiti for several months now.  You may recall that we had even naively believed last November that we might be able to start in January.  Recently, we spent a couple of weeks pestering folks at OMS about getting assurance that we could start for certain this coming August (well, as "certain" as is allowed within "God willing").  We kept saying, "If only we knew for sure that we could get started with the new school year, we'd be so excited!"

So now there is a sure path to get us started in August, and, believe me, we ARE excited.  But, speaking for myself, I've noticed I am feeling roughly equal parts excitement and anxiousness.

I am a worrier by nature ... by sinful nature!  I have to actively work at resting in - and trusting in - Christ.  I need to be reminded now and then that Jesus does not advise us not to worry - He commands it.

Recall Matthew 6:

²⁵ “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? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them."

So the problem with worry is that it exposes a gaping lack of faith.  Along with the rebuke, Jesus' words are packed with incredible reassurances.

"Don't worry because you are valuable to God!"

"Don't worry because God's provision for you is not dependent on your works or even the size of your faith."

"Don't worry.  Your heavenly Father is well aware of your needs."

And then, as often happens in Scripture, there is a reversal.  The Word doesn't often leave it at "Don't do this." It's usually "Don't do this - do THAT instead." And that's how Jesus addresses the worry issue here:

^"33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

That's what I mean by reversal: "Don't worry - instead, make the Kingdom your top priority." 

Notice, seeking the Kingdom will not result in a trouble-free existence.  Each day will still bring trouble - but not more than can be handled that day. 

Times of change can be nerve-wracking.  We imagine so many things that could go wrong. So, as things are about to change for our family, I am choosing to direct my mental energies toward seeking the Kingdom of God rather than in "trying to add a single hour to my life". 

I came across a quote from author Andy Andrews on Twitter today that I found reassuring: "Every good thing that has happened in your life happened because something changed."