Trusting God with your anxious thoughts

     I can’t say that I worry about the big things in life as often as I do the little things: how my kids will do in school, if I’ll have enough energy to make a somewhat decent dinner, how long it will take to clean up the mess afterward, if I’ve reached 10,000 steps on Fitbit or if I’ll get enough sleep tonight.
     Sometimes I find myself wishing that I didn’t carry the weight of burdens the Lord says he’ll take care of. I mean, can I do a better job than he? I know I can’t, but why do I try so hard?
     I see and hear the birds outside my kitchen window. They’re busy building, flapping their wings and happily singing a tune — not having a care in the world about what’s going on or where they’ll acquire their food. Sometimes I just sit and watch them to see if I could be a little bit more carefree, as they are.
     God feeds and cares for the birds of the air. He’s watching over them. And am I more valuable? Jesus says that I am. Since we’re more precious than the birds, how much more does Jesus care about us and the daily details of our lives? Jesus desires us to trust in God’s provision and plan for our lives — not just for the future but right now. For the next 10 minutes, the next hour and the next 10 hours. We can trust him because he’s a good father who provides for his own.
     He knows that worry tends to choke the life and joy out of us. It gets us nowhere fast, doesn’t solve anything and is a waste of sweet time. Jesus understands our natural tendency to do the opposite of what we should do.

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