Cares of this life...

Mat 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Do we live in the moment? Or are we constantly trying to live in the future? Seriously. Do we spend entirely too much time thinking about what's next in our day to day living so much so that they become 'cares of this life'?  Are we caught up in 'cares of this life?' I fear we are and it's become our way of living, acceptable and unthinkable to change.

Luk_21:34  And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares

Luk 8:14  And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Luk 10:41  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things

There is a danger in the cares of this life, an eternal danger. 

Where does the harm from being a worrier come into play? Why does worrying endanger our eternal life?

I'm a life-long worrier so this truly concerns me more than I'd like to admit.

Php 4:6  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

When we worry we are being careful for everything, not in prayer about everything. We might pray but our prayers do not ascend. Seriously. They stop right around us and go no further because we hold fast to the cares we are praying about.  It's so strange for a worrier not to worry. To stop worrying when everything tells us we should keep on worrying, seems almost like a betrayal of sorts. As if our worrying goes hand in hand with our ability to care.  And if we don't worry we don't really care. We equate worry with caring. I care whether I live or die so I have to worry horrifically if I'm in any danger of dying- such as surgery or having to do something dangerous. I care about being loved so I worry that I might not be loved. The CARES of this life, the WORRIES of this life overwhelm us and keep us from TRUSTING God.

Mat 6:11  Give us this day our daily bread.

We are to PRAY daily for our needs and know that they will be fulfilled - ONLY according to our eternal life.  I have to say that because the truth is, people in need pray all the time for those needs to be met but they aren't and some of these people even die horrible deaths. It's not that their NEEDS aren't being met, it's that their suffering now is truly temporary and the greatest need any of us has is the need of our Savior and the HOPE of life with our Savior, united to Him forever.

Lam 3:21  This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

Lam 3:22  It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

Lam 3:23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lam 3:24  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

Lam 3:25  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

Lam 3:26  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

Act 14:22  Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

These are truths.

Now back to one of the questions asked above- do we live in the moment? Are we constantly striving for the future happenings?  I think we need to stop. Not so we can live in the now in a way that is detrimental to our eternal lives. Too many advocate living in the now so they don't have to think about responsibilities, so they don't have to answer to anyone for anything. We need to live in the here and now knowing we are doing so for our God.  We need to NOT get caught up in the worries, the cares of this life that try to steal God from us.

We will go through much tribulation here and now, but our hope is entering the kingdom of God. Jesus died to give us this hope.  Our hope is founded in HIM and it's to Him we must look always.

In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, may we find our hope in Him and not get caught up in the cares of this life.

Amen.