Ceasing Anxiety to Find Rest For My Soul

Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy

(anxious and worried) about your life,

what you shall eat or what you shall drink;

or about your body, what you shall put on.

Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body

[far above and more excellent] than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and

yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them.

Are you not worth much more than they?

And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure

(cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?

And why should you be anxious about clothes?

Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow;

they neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence

was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and

tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you,

O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying,

What are we going to have to eat? or,

What are we going to have to drink? or,

What are we going to have to wear?

For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these

things,

and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness

(His way of doing and being right),

and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own.

Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

The command seems pretty clear here, STOP being uneasy, anxious and worried about life!

Below is the devotional that started this whole week long series on finding rest for my soul. I hope it blesses you as it did me. I loved, loved, loved it!

Many years ago there was a monk who needed olive oil, so he planted an olive tree sapling. After he finished planting it, he prayed, "Lord, my tree needs rain so its tender roots may drink and grow. Send gentle showers." And the Lord sent gentle showers. Then the monk prayed, "Lord, my tree needs sun. Please send it sun." And the sun shone, gilding the once-dripping clouds. "Now send frost, dear Lord, to strengthen its branches." cried the monk. And soon the little tree was covered in sparkling frost, but by evening it had died.

The the monk sought out a brother monk in his cell and told him of his strange experience. After hearing the story, the other monk said, "I also have planted a little tree. See how it is thriving! But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows better than a man like me what it needs. I gave God no constraints or conditions, except to pray, "Lord, send what it needs--whether that be a storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. You made it, and you know best what it needs."

(Taken from Streams in the Desert, updated edition, which I highly recommend. You could easily find an affordable copy at Amazon. I found some copies for a penny!)

Isn't that so good?!

Doesn't He know best what we need?

How are you doing this week with resting, trusting, casting and ceasing anxiety?

See the following links for the other posts in this series.

Seeking rest for my soul a weeklong series

Casting to find rest for my soul

Trusting to find rest for my soul

Also, be sure to check out Kariann's Prayer on this subject. It is so great.

And

Annemarie wrote a great post on this subject before she even knew what I was writing about. It is a wonderful post, be sure to check it out.