Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Luke 12:25
According to author and Bible teacher Beth Moore, three things will take a bite out of your life. Put together, the first letters of each of the three words are an acronym that spells the word "jaw." These three things are jealousy, anger, and worry. The final word on this list has been our focus this week and will continue to be our focus today. Certainly, worry takes a hefty bite out of our lives. It steals our joy. It keeps us from living in the moment God has placed us in. At its core, worry is a thief.
Luke 12 is a familiar passage about worry. In this chapter of Luke, Jesus teaches listeners about worry. More specifically, Jesus teaches listeners not to worry. During this teaching, He said, "I tell you not to worry about your everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear" (verse 22). With this command, Jesus gave a promise; God will always take care of us. Because He will always take care of us, we do not have a reason to worry. We can trust in His care and provision for us.
In the middle of this teaching, Jesus asked a question that must have made His listeners pause and think. I know that it stopped me in my tracks. Here is what He asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" This question is one of the many examples that we have of Jesus being a master storyteller. This question was meant to make listeners think. It was a rhetorical question, not meant to be answered out loud. The implied answer was, and still is, "no, not one worry can add a moment to our lives." This question was meant to make us ask an even deeper question, "If worrying serves no purpose, why worry?" This question frames worry for what it is: a thief.
Worry adds nothing to our lives. It does steal from us. It steals our time, energy, joy, concentration, and more. Recognizing that worry does nothing positive to help us can help give us the perspective we need to let go of the worry. It is true; worry is not from God; it steals from us and will indeed take a bite out of our lives. Let's turn to God when worry comes and trust His promises for us daily.
Is worry taking over your life right now? Has it been stealing from you? It is time we recognize worry as what it is, an unwelcome thief, and turn to God, giving each of these worries to Him. When we realize how unhelpful worry is, we can begin to let go of it.
Read Luke 12:22-28(NLT)
Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?
“Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
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