Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Nolite solliciti | Do not worry

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today" — Mat 6:34



Reflecting on the beautiful teaching of Jesus on the needless worries that we humans tend to carry on our shoulders, in spite of the fact that God has told us repeatedly in OT & NT texts that He will supply all that we need. That in Him, we'll find a peace that surpasses human understanding.

I'm reminded of this beautiful quote by Corrie Ten Boom (Holocaust Survivor – who endured the searing pain of witnessing her father & older sister's death in a Nazi concentration camp):

"Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength."

After the war, Ten Boom advocated reconciliation as a means for overcoming the psychological scars left by the Nazi occupation. She later traveled the world as an evangelist, motivational speaker, and social critic, referring to her experiences in Ravensbrück as she offered solace to prisoners and protested the Vietnam War (Source: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/corrie-ten-boom).

I'm also reminded of the countless times that I had prayed to the Lord to carry away my burdens and yet almost immediately had put those burdens back onto my tired shoulders, acting as if I was my own saviour. It was only after many years of fruitless striving in my own strength and self-made pride, that God brought me into a place of ultimate surrender, where I literally had to lay down all my cares and burdens before His most Holy Cross and finally realized what Paul had meant when he declared:

"Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (Phi 3:7-8, NRSCVE)

I will close with this beautiful hymn about the Power of resting in Christ.


In Christ Alone (by Keith & Kristyn Getty)

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/16KYvfIc2bE

 

1. In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

 

2. In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

 

3. There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

 

4. No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

 

WORDS AND MUSIC BY KEITH GETTY & STUART TOWNEND

 

© 2002 THANKYOU MUSIC(PRS) ADM WORLDWIDE AT CAPITOLCMGPUBLISHING.COM EXCLUDING EUROPE WHICH IS ADM BY INTEGRITYMUSIC.COM


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Reflection on Matthew 6:16-34 by Chris Tan

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