A WORD FOR TODAY, August 30, 2021
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, August 30, 2021
“Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, ‘Rejoice!’ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7, WEB
The question this week comes out of the Sermon on the Mount, a lengthy teaching by Jesus about how we are to live in His grace in this world. He asked, “Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?” A Christian does not need to worry because we look to God to help us through our troubles. He encouraged us to look to the birds that sell in the marketplace for pennies to see how to trust in God.
We keep multiple bird feeders around our yard. They are carefully placed so we can watch the creatures who come to share our bounty. The feed is diverse so that we will meet the needs of both bird and squirrel. Bruce had just filled with squirrel food. The mix includes peanuts still in the shell, a favorite of the squirrels. He happened to look out a window yesterday and noticed a squirrel digging in our garden. I wondered if he was burying peanuts, so I watched for awhile. The squirrel did indeed come back over and over again, taking the peanuts out of the feeder. It didn’t go to the same spot, it took the peanuts and buried them all over my yard. It even ran across the street with a peanut in its mouth to our neighbor’s yard to bury one. I noticed this morning that all the peanuts are gone. I suspect they are buried all over the neighborhood and I wonder how it will find them again.
It may have seemed like a waste of time, especially since I was not sure how I would accomplish everything I needed to do. I especially enjoy watching the birds when things seem to be very stressful. It is amazing how quickly we manage to fill every hour of every day with responsibilities, never knowing if we can accomplish everything. I’ve heard people say that all they need is another hour each day, but if we are honest we will confess that if we had another hour we would find more things to do. My vacation meant that I need to rush to get things ready for several major events in the next month or so; added to my regular work means too much to do in too little time. We are also stressed by the events of the past week. I have to admit I was a little worried about it all.
When we are in the midst of a worrisome time, it is very hard to remember that God does provide. We get stressed because we don’t know how we will get through. Whatever our struggles, God has promised to be with us and to help us. Worry will get us nowhere. The answer to Jesus’ question is that we won’t add even a minute to our lives with worry. As a matter of fact, worry tends to take our life. Worry is a waste of time, it causes health problems, it causes us to respond to our stresses in negative or unhelpful ways. Worry reveals our lack of trust in the God who loves us. We may not always understand how He will get us through, but we will always find that things are better when we let go and let God.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.