Taking Everyday As It Comes
This past week the advice “take every day as it comes” has been repeatedly given to me. In my context, graduation and life after school are knocking at my door, and as a human, I want to know what is going to happen, when, where, why, and how. But the Lord reminded me… to just stand.
Matthew 6:25-34 was one of the passages in the Bible that really touched my spirit when I first got saved. I was in a place, similar to where I am now where I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders and I just needed to exhale. Let’s look at this passage and let’s see what stands out!
25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
This passage reminds us that the Lord is sovereign over everything in the earth (Psalm 24:1-2). See the Lord does His work on earth through you and I (Philippians 2:13, Isaiah 26:11-12, 2 Peter 1:20-21). If the Lord ensures the things of animals and plants have everything they need, those who are called to His purpose will have exceedingly and abundantly (emphasis on CALLED TO HIS PURPOSE Romans 8:28, Ephesians 3:20-21). Let’s look at verses 32-33.
“These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”
When I first got saved, and even now verse 33 was my fav! I clung to it in times of need especially since I made the resolve to place the Lord as top priority in my life, above everything else. But now, I understand that when it says Seek the Kingdom of God, He wanted us to seek the will for our lives that was purposed before the foundations of the earth (Ephesians 1:4-5, Jeremiah 1:5). See verse 32 is the perfect precursor for verse 33. ‘These things dominate the thoughts of the unbeliever’. Sheesh.. to worry about the things of this life is to be alike with those who do not believe in our Lord Jesus Christ. I like to believe this is because believing in Jesus is more than just words; it is an action. To believe in Him is to accept Him into your life and like we saw above, to allow Him to do His work through you. See, to truly believe in God, you must also believe and accept His will for your life. We each are born for a purpose that the Lord willed, and it is accomplishing and seeking that goal that gives our life meaning. We are not to worry about our lives because we know when we are walking in the will of the Lord, we will have nothing to worry about because His will will prevail (Isaiah 14:27, Proverbs 19:21).
See when Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians to worry about nothing but to pray always (Philippians 4:6-7), he knew that worrying and walking with the Lord are mutually exclusive, meaning they can not occur at the same time. The Lord also reminds us that when we pray though, we must believe in what we pray for (Mark 11:24, James 1:6-8). This makes me think of what was mentioned before, that the will of the Lord will always prevail and so when we pray and seek His will we have the evidence and substance to believe in our prayers. For we never want to ask amiss, asking for things that are not in the will of God (James 4:3).
You might ask well how am I to know His will for my life, and the answer lies within His Word (literally).
One revelation of Scripture that astonishes me even to this day is Psalm 37:4 which encourages us to delight in the Lord so that He can give us the desires of our heart. In this sense, the words delight in the Lord means to live in the Lord and to spend time in enjoyment in Him (Strong’s Concordance). The desires of our hearts are not what we come up with carnally, but more so what the Lord gives us to desire. See living in the Lord and finding enjoyment in Him allows us to be renewed and transformed so that we begin to will (strive for) what He will’s (His plan from the beginning of the earth) for us.
Psalm 119:105 tells us the word of the Lord is a lamp unto our feet that is a light on our path. Since the word of the Lord is alive and inspired by God, we know He speaks to us from it (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16). When we become immersed in His word, we learn of His nature and directly receive the encouragement and direction to what He has for us (Romans 15:4, John 1:1).
I plead with you brothers and sisters to get in His word and make a resolve to know Him and His plan for your life. A true relationship with Christ starts with you making it your will, your desire to make Him Lord in your life, and get serious. This is the only way to eliminate worry from your life.
My prayer is from Ephesians 1:17-18 which is the prayer Apostle Paul had for the Saints (Biblical term for believers) at Ephesus.
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people”
Song Rec: The Anointed Pace Sisters – U-Know