Matthew 6:25, 32 (NASB)
There were times when my kids were young that I would forget simple truths. I would be reminded, only to forget again and again. I would forget God cared for me and for my family. Forget he knew my needs. Forget he was able to provide. If you were to have asked me whether I knew those things to be true, I would have insisted, of course, that I did. It was just that I was worrying as though I didn’t. I was living without an awareness of God’s presence with me in my troubles.
Have you experienced this kind of God-amnesia lately? Has all of the concern over COVID-19 and its impact on your family tempted you to worry, to be anxious about tomorrow. The sheer scope of these challenges can cause us to feel more than a little “frayed around the edges” or like things are “falling apart.”
The verb form of the word for “worried” (merimnao, Matthew 6:25), merizo, carries the idea of being “divided into parts” as a result of being pulled in different directions, or figuratively “to go to pieces.” This is how we often feel when we have forgotten that our Heavenly Father not only sees and knows about every one of our concerns, but that he also cares and is able to provide for our needs.
In Luke 10:38-40, we find that two sisters, Mary and Martha, were hosting Jesus in their home. Martha was “distracted with all her preparations” and “worried and bothered about so many things.” Meanwhile her sister, Mary, sat peacefully at the Lord’s feet, listening to him. Jesus said that Mary had chosen the good part. She was aware that being in his presence and hearing his words were what she really needed.
The peace that Martha needed, the peace that I need when I begin to be worried and bothered about so many things, can be found in following Mary’s example. It is in remembering to sit in the Lord’s presence and in listening to him.
LIVE THE STORY: One way to practice choosing the “good part” is to open up to one of the gospels and to slowly read, meditating on Jesus’ words with this prayer, “Lord, help me to truly listen to your words today, as though hearing your voice. Help me to hear you and to rest in you today.”
Nicole Jiles
Children’s Ministry Director