Listen

"And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith?"

Matthew 6:28-30

Think

Even though I know worrying will not add a moment to my life, telling myself I should not worry has yet to help. Occasionally, it just gives me something else to worry about – that I am wasting time worrying! I have never been lectured into a peaceful mind by myself or by anyone else.

Jesus gives us one of the best antidotes to worry in today’s passage. Notice the beauty in the world. Notice the good. Then remember who created the source of all that beauty and goodness: God. Perhaps this is why so many people feel close to God when enjoying nature’s beauty.

When we take a moment to stop and smell the lilies, so to speak, we also refocus on God. When we are focused on God, we worry less. We live more fully. We are able to notice the good that surrounds us and to be more thankful for it when we see it.

Michelle Terry

Pray

God, there is so much that is good in this world. Open my eyes to the beauty that surrounds me every day, and when I notice it, bring me back to its source – you. Amen.

Go

Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:16b-17