Faith In The Face Of Fear: Day Five
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Faith In The Face Of Fear Day 5
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The birds of the air,
the flowers of the field, and you.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mt. 6:33)
This afternoon did not start well.
Earlier this morning I realized that I have still been paying for our TV service in Saskatchewan for the past four months, even though we moved to Portage in December. Before calling the company at noon to look into this, I went back to some files and confirmed that I had contacted them before our move to cancel our contract. Apparently that didn’t happen. “Oh well,” I thought, “let’s get this cleared up and get some money refunded to our account.”
That didn’t happen either.
I’ll spare you the details but, after being passed from department to department – repeating my personal information and re-explaining my situation each time – we are still on the hook for the past four months of charges. But at least the representative cheerfully thanked me for being their customer before we hung up.
I was really frustrated when I got off the phone. While it is not a massive amount of money in question, it’s my money, and it would be nice to have it in the bank account in these strange economic times. Might even be enough to buy a couple rolls of toilet paper. On top of the financial frustration, the call ate up more time than I expected – time that I had set aside to write this devotional. By that point I wasn’t feeling very devotiony (I made that word up), so I hooked my dog onto his leash and went for a walk to clear my head.
The sun was warm this afternoon, the sky was blue, and there were signs that spring is finally here to stay. All of this became a reminder for me of God’s gentle, faithful presence. As I shifted focus from my frustration to God’s faithfulness, he brought this verse to mind:
“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
It is a simple truth, but it made a big difference in my spirit.
The fact is, God will take care of me and my family, whether I get a refund or not. This verse reminds me that I don’t need to anxiously grasp for the things I think I need or deserve; when I give him everything I have (“seek his kingdom and righteousness”), I can trust him to give me everything I need.
This has proven to be true in my life over and over. I have experienced God’s faithful and abundant provision in numerous ways. Sometimes it has been as predictable as a paycheque and other times it has been as surprising as a gift from a stranger. Whatever shape it has taken, I have lived the reality that Paul speaks about in Philippians 4: “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (v. 19).
You probably have your own stories that you could add to mine. Why don’t you take a moment to reflect on the ways you have experienced God’s provision and his care?
Remembering his faithfulness in the past enables us to trust him with the future.
This afternoon didn’t start well, but it ended much better. It ended with the realization that, in my quest to anxiously get what I want, I give up too much. Too much peace. And too much perspective. I forget who God is and what he has promised.
That change of attitude is worth the cost of a few months of TV.
Further Reading:
Matthew 6:25-34
Key Verse:
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (vv. 32-33)
Calibrating Prayer:
Father, I confess that I can get wrapped up in worry about all sorts of things. How silly, since you have proven your love for me time and time again. Help me to remember that you feed the birds and clothe the flowers, and I am more valuable to you than these. I rest in the care of a Heavenly Father who delights to give good gifts to his children.