Leadership Message

One of my favourite passages from the Bible is found in Matthew 6:25-34, part of what is recorded as Jesus’ Sermon on The Mount. In it, Jesus encourages the listener not to worry, concluding with these often-quoted, well-known words 

’Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’

Do. Not. Worry. Yet worrying, that is, holding concern over, or finding our thoughts consumed by a person or situation, is something that we all face regularly. 

We may be concerned for our children: ‘How are they going with their school work?’ ‘Do they have a good group of friends around them?’ ‘What is with the way they talk to us at home?’

We can be under pressure in our workplace, thinking that the boss is always on our case. Deadlines come, deadlines go, and the workload seems to increase!

Relationships can cause frequent tension, and we may question whether we truly fit in. Some relationships may right now bring grief to your heart as you look over the fractures of trust or rehash the hurt from harsh words spoken or needs and desires left unmet.

Health concerns may rear their head placing pressure on ones’ physical, and mental self, leaving emotions fraught and the tension of ‘what if’ that can play on repeat in your thoughts.

Yet the message from Scripture still rings true – Do. Not. Worry.

The question that must be asked, and one that I myself have often raised, is how do we live in this place of not worrying when life is full of challenges, obstacles and pressures that continually weigh heavily upon us?

Two conclusions that I have arrived at, are Trust and Prayer. As we keep reading from Matthew 6, specifically verses 26-27 we see these words,

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? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

In our home, the garden is full of birds that flit and hop about the wonderful plants that fill our property. They seem so carefree, and dare I say it, joyous. They seem to be completely taken by being in the moment. I think we can learn a lot from our feathered friends. Now, do they have concerns? I would say they absolutely do! They are seeking food, shelter, safety. But they seem so carefree in the pursuit of those things. Quite how they manage that is a marvel, but nonetheless they do. They trust in the Creator and His wonderful creation to provide all their needs. Place your trust in God.

The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:5-7,

‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

How’s your prayer life? When faced with the potential to worry, what do you do? Do you slip into the innate internal wiring within to try and fix the problem, racing through many possible scenarios? Do you lean into a cultivated response of prayerful petition before God? 

Being prayerful requires constant attention. In fact, both placing one’s trust in God and cultivating a prayerful lifestyle require constant work —a bit like brushing your teeth each day! For best results, it’s the daily actions.

Do not worry, rather trust and pray. Surrender that person, situation, challenge into God’s hands, trusting that He’s got this. Pray. Come to God with the concerns of your heart and give them over to Him… He looks after the birds after all.

As the year begins to come to a rapid conclusion, I want to encourage you to examine your heart; the circumstances, concerns, challenges and joys. Do you need to work on cultivating a rhythm of prayer in your daily life? Can you be brave and step out in trust that God is carrying the whole thing in His mighty hands? Surround yourself with those who can encourage you in these things. Model this behaviour to those in your care, be it children, friends, work colleagues, or spouse. And as you do so, may the God above fill you with His peace, with His comfort, with His guiding presence, so that as the challenges of life come, you may face them knowing that God is with you in the thick of it.

May grace & peace be upon you.

Adam Wood

Director of Faith Formation & Wellbeing