Kara’s Collection: Oh my anxious heart...

September 17, 2015 Kara Tippetts

From an article originally posted January 4, 2013

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6

Shall I write a post about how I believe this, but how difficult this is for me right now? I will say, I believe Matthew 6, in its entirety, is one of the hardest chapters in the Bible. Care for the poor, but don’t toot your stinking horn about it. Pray, but don’t pray for attention. Forgiveness and fasting, storing up treasures in heaven, OUCH! And the real clincher, don’t be anxious. And really the heart of that is. TRUST ME.

Oh how we love to depend on our own strength. How we like to be the rulers of our own destiny. And boy howdy, we like to toot our horn. Look at me, look at what happened. Don’t you like all my stinking stuff?

But today, these verses are a comfort. I have literally thought what will I wear? How will I look? I walked into a lingerie store before Christmas and walked out in tears. My sister in law reminded me I won’t be able to lift my arms and clothing is going to be hard after surgery for several weeks. My heart is anxious and these verses are the medicine I need.

Last night a friend asked me if my heart was ready for Wednesday. Truly, I have avoided looking at a calendar. Now that it is less than a week, I cannot avoid it. I have moments of great peace as well as great anxiety. Next Wednesday is surgery, Jesus has asked me to trust him, and I do.

How is your heart anxious today? And how are you submitting that to God?