A Pastor’s Thoughts

By Rev. Nancy J. Adams, Owego United Methodist Church —

We’re human. We worry, right? Here are some things you can worry about. One, your birthday cake collapses from the weight of the candles and two, your twin sister forgot your birthday. 

I don’t mean to make light of serious issues in our lives. Worrying is part of the human condition. The question is, “Is it winning?” There may be times when it is winning. Maybe it’s winning for you right now.  

Matthew 6:25-34 is a passage in which Jesus encourages us not to worry. Jesus gives the example of birds, flowers, and grass that have been created by God and cared for by God, that all bring joy and beauty.  

We’re also told in the passage that worrying will not lengthen our lives. It can shorten our lives, though! When we’re really worried about things we can’t see straight, and cannot make wise decisions when we’re in that state.

Vs. 34 concludes the passage by telling us to not worry about tomorrow, and that today’s trouble is enough for today. We’ve often heard the adage, “One day at a time.” There’s a lot of wisdom in that, even though it’s easier said than done. When we look at the size of our problems instead of the size of our God, then our focus is in the wrong place.  

Okay, Nance. That’s all well and good, but birds and lilies don’t have bills to pay. The rent or mortgage payment is still due, the credit card bill is high, payroll needs to be made, there’s an uncertain future due to a serious diagnosis, etc. Even though there’s a lot to worry about, nothing can keep God from caring for us. We are loved with an everlasting love. 

If we focus on gratitude for that and all the other blessings God has provided, our faith will be strengthened and our worries will diminish. Although it doesn’t change the situation we’re in, gratitude can be a powerful deterrent to worry. Perhaps you’ve learned what I have, and that is that a lot of the stuff I worry about never comes to pass.  

So I worried for nothing. That’s a lot of wasted time and energy, and is not productive, and sucks the life out of us. When Jesus tells us that today’s worries are enough for today and not to worry about tomorrow, I think it’s reassuring and instructive for us, as well as being a good reminder to not borrow trouble from tomorrow. 

While none of us is immune from bad things happening in life, from struggles, we are not alone. We are promised the peace that passes understanding that comes from Jesus. 

Years ago a pilot was making a flight around the world. After he had been gone for two hours from his last landing field he heard a noise in his plane, which he recognized as the gnawing of a rat. He realized that while his plane had been on the ground a rat had gotten in. For all he knew, the rat could be gnawing through a vital cable of the plane. 

He was both concerned and anxious. It was two hours back to the landing field from which he had taken off and more than two hours to the next field ahead. Then he remembered that the rat is a rodent, and not made for heights; it is made to live on the ground and under the ground. So the pilot began to climb until he was more than twenty thousand feet up. 

The gnawing ceased. The rat was dead. It could not survive in the atmosphere of those heights. More than two hours later the pilot brought the plane safely to the next landing field and found the dead rat.

Worry is a rodent. It cannot live when we pray, ask others to pray, and when we read our Bibles. It cannot breathe in the atmosphere made vital by prayer and familiarity with the scripture. Worry dies when we are focused on the Kingdom of God and cast our cares on Him. 

Friends, worry won’t win when we remember that whatever tomorrow brings, it also brings God. Hallelujah!