No reason for concern

Some thought that have been wandering through my mind as I fight off the urge to be anxious or worry:

"…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on" (Matt 6:25) Oh, sure, no problem, Lord! But what is so bad about worrying, isn't being prepared, being concerned about how to take care of things tomorrow a good thing? Aren't we supposed to be good stewards of our time, our resources, our talents? Yes, certainly, but that doesn't mean that we have license to sit and stew about how we are going to get what we need for the morrow, or what is going to happen, or how we will handle the 'what if's'. For that is a sure sign of unbelief, of not trusting, or thinking that we can figure it out on our own! And I ask myself, when has my worrying about anything ever changed the outcome?! OK, so call it by another name, call it 'planning'. I have wasted many an hour, or even a day, doing this. I plan for a certain situation, or I plan "for a rainy day", which either never comes, or I am not prepared for anyway, despite the hours of stewing away at the possibility. Or perhaps I am just to follow the Lord on through the trouble, and to trust Him in the midst of the storm, instead of thinking that it is my job to fix the issue, even if it never comes! Oswald Chambers wrote "It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe that God can look after the practical details that worry us. The only cure for unbelief is obedience to the Spirit. The greatest word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon." Lord, help me to leave the cares of this world in Your much more capable hands than mine. Teach me to follow you so closely that I cannot envision a reason to worry, since my life is hidden in You!"