Read Matthew 6:25-34

If one were to sit back and describe what it was like to be alive during 2012, one would have to state that it was a tense, tense time.  Millions of people are without jobs, many of whom have simply given up looking for work and have dropped out of the work force. To make matters worse, this is not just an American problem, but a global problem. All one has to do is turn on any of the news channels to hear about the economic woes in America and beyond.

To add to that, the situation in the Middle East seems to be coming to a boiling point as we watch the chaos that ensues in the streets of cities from Cairo to Benghazi. All of the major news organizations are reporting day and night on the precarious situations that are stirring, speculating on what is to become of our American country and the world.

We so often find ourselves in a place of unnecessary worry and panic as a result of the things happening around us. Will I lose my job? Will my family be able to survive our financial problems? Will we make it through these times in one piece? Will there be World War 3?  Will the future be safe for my kids and their children? These and so many more questions are constantly flooding our heads.  The stress is enough to paralyze even the strongest of people.

It is in times such as these where Jesus words in Matthew 6:25-34 are both poignant and timely. After all, what will worrying about such things do for us in the end. Can worrying and stressing over financial situations help you to work through them and move beyond them? Can stressing over the chaos of the world help change the world we live in? In fact, wouldn’t it be safe to say that a majority of the world’s problems are a result of people stressing over stuff, from the small stuff to things of import.  Adding stress on top of stress is never going to solve any of the problems in our lives.

Rather, Jesus calls us to put God first.  We are called to let go of our lives, we are called to hand our lives over to God and to put our trust in God. We are called to stop paralyzing ourselves in stress-manufactured fear, and to start walking in the direction God is calling us in. We are to walk in faith, serving others as God is calling us to.  Everything else will follow.

If we do have faith in God, if we do believe God is almighty and is ever-present, if we do believe God will never leave us nor forsake us, then what do we have to worry about?  Rather than worrying, trust that God will get you through whatever situations you find yourself in and move forward in the direction God is calling you to move.  Free yourself from the bonds of fear inducing stress and place all of your hope and trust in the Lord.