Trust in God

from the Gospel of Saint Matthew 6, 25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

Today’s readings can be summarized in one word: Trust.

Trust in God.

Trust that he cares for us.

Trust that if we seek first His kingdom and his righteousness as Jesus taught, all things will be given unto us.

It’s so difficult to trust. When we trust someone it requires opening up our hearts and taking a risk. There is always a risk when we trust because we may get hurt.

Trusting God means letting go and allowing God to take charge. We struggle in letting go and in trusting that God will take care of us. We worry so much, about work, children, the economy, global warming, decreasing fossil fuel deposits. We watch 24 hour news networks and worry about things we don’t really even care about. We worry and get gray hair. We worry and lose our hair.

We want to control so many things. We want to control our children. I hear some wives wish they could implant a chip in their husbands’ minds to control them. Spouses want to control each other. We sometimes even want to control God. Desiring control always leads to frustration, because ultimately God is in control and we are not.

God is in control and he tells us, “Seek me first and all things will be given unto thee.”

There is no more tender image than a pregnant mother caressing her belly with her child inside. God invokes this moving image to tell us how he loves us and watches over us. That baby is safe and warm without a single worry in the world. That is how God wants us to live.

This Gospel passage is my favorite because I have gone to it during the darkest and most difficult times of my life, and have found comfort. I recommend you copy it and read it every day.

Jesus isn’t being a hippy by telling us to look at the birds and the flowers. He is calling us to trust in God. If God takes care of the birds and the flowers, how much will he take care of us? Why have we grown anxious? Why do we worry excessively? All our worry and anxiety will not change a thing.

Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow. I don’t know if I’ll be alive tomorrow, so why worry about tomorrow? Tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient is today.

Trusting God means saying “thy will be done.” We say this every time we pray the Our Father, “thy kingdom come, they will be done.” This prayer is an act of trust and it must be our prayer.

Praying “thy will be done” is like diving into the ocean. We don’t know where the waves may take us or when they may pull us away, but we dive in anyways. Letting go is the hardest thing, yet God wants us to let go and let Him take charge. All we need to do is trust. If we seek God first, all things will fall into place.

Do not be afraid. Look out into the ocean, and just dive in.