Do you REALLY believe His promises?

31 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things ; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow ; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Matthew6:31-34

I woke up early this morning with the thoughts of how different passages of scripture define your life at that moment. At this time in my life, no passage could be more fitting than this one from Matthew. It is my reminder that I have no need to worry about those things that I cannot control around me because God if faithful and will provide.

Maybe if I had not experienced all that I have over the past couple of years, I would find it much harder to cling to this verse. It is amazing how scripture can come to life when your eyes are turned upward. I am at a place where I truly believe His truth and am choosing to live according to His ways. Because of this choice, He is beginning to transform my life from the inside out.

When our lives are transformed, worry and anxious thinking begin to lose their grip on us. When we seek security in worldly things, money, jobs…- we will only find that we are filled with even more anxiety. Stress enters into our lives in a number of different ways and is something that we will never be free from in this life. How we handle our stress and worries greatly reflects our spiritual walk. If we allow our anxieties to dominate us, we are held in bondage and left to feelings hopelessness. We have to choose to believe what Truth says about God's faithfulness and loves for us.

We have to fight the urge to question whether God really cares and instead believe His promises.

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Matthew 6:26

If God takes care of even the birds, why would He not provide for His most precious creation- His children? I believe our value is much greater to God than the birds.

Making God our number one priority means that we obey His instructions. We submit to whatever situation He uses to transform us into being more like Him whether it is hardship, suffering or relief. It is not about being sinless because that is not possible but instead it is having the desire to live according to God's will for your life and to become more like Christ.

We often get ourselves worked up over things that we have no control over and end up feeling out of control. We do not have the power to change some our circumstances but we have the Creator of the Universe who holds everything in His hands- including all of those situations that feel totally out of control. For this reason, we have no worry to fear tomorrow.

When we are fearful or we worry, it is because we are not trusting in God and His promises to us. Anxiety is simply no more than unbelief. Scripture is full of promises of God's faithfulness to provide. If you can trust His promises for your eternal salvation, why can't you trust Him for your daily needs?

When we make the choice and commit to the goal of submission, the Lord promises that He will provide for whatever we need. That doesn't mean that we will get everything that we ask for but instead those things that HE knows that we need.

The benefits of living in God's will are limitless. He does not just provide for our spiritual needs, but our physical needs as well. There is no need to worry for anything because God is faithful to His word and we can trust Him to stick to what He says.