As part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke the following words from Matthew 6:25-30 about worry and anxiety, emotions and feelings most of us with prostate cancer can relate to. “Do not be anxious for your own life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than them? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life span?” (A cubit is 18 inches and ‘life span’ as used here can mean ‘height’). “Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil. Yet Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field,….will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith.”
Stressful situations come in a variety of forms and intensities, and our earthly existence will never be completely free of them. However the important question is what are we going to do with our anxiety? If we let it dominate our thinking, fretfulness can become a way of life. But if we believe and trust in what the Bible says about the Lord and His care for us, then we will experience an awesome liberation from worry.
Do you sometimes doubt whether God really cares about your health issues like cancer that cause you (and me) to worry? After all, He’s got the entire universe to run and our issues seem so small in comparison, and we are just one person in this cosmos. But consider how inconsequential birds and flowers are, yet Jesus says that the Father cares for them. Don’t you think we are worth much more to Him than they are? (Actually the woodpecker in the picture lives in my yard).
At times we let ourselves get all worked up and stressed out because we are trying to change something that is beyond our control. While there may be ways of improving our disease states by proper diet, exercise, rest and proper treatments, there are many situations that we are powerless to alter such as the length of our life. But the sovereign Ruler of the universe loves us and holds everything in His hands – including our stressful and seemingly out-of-control situations. Therefore, we have no reason to fret or fear.
Perhaps the biggest reason we worry is because we don’t trust the Lord or do not even know Him or have a relationship with Him. Anxiety can be a symptom of unbelief. The Bible is filled with God’s promises to provide, but so often we doubt that He will. If you have a relationship with God, and if you can trust Him for your eternal security, can’t you also trust Him for your earthly needs? Submit your needs to Him and trust Him. If you are not sure of your relationship with God, see the following link.
A portion of the above was taken from In Touch devotional by Dr. Charles Stanley.
