Message by Larry Thacker Jr. from May 2, “A Very Little Thing”
Luke 12:25-26 reads, “which of you by worrying can add a day to his life’s span? Therefore if you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about the other things?” (NASB) We may make choices that give us a greater chance of living longer, but God is the only one who knows the number of our days, (Psalm 139;16) Certainly we can’t change that by worrying about it.
The part that always catches my notice is “a very little thing.” Here Jesus speaks from the perspective of the creator of the universe. To him it is a very little thing indeed! This is the God we serve. We can trust that He knows our needs better than we do.
There is plenty of instruction in the Bible about living our lives in a responsible way by working and planning to meet our own needs and those of our families, but as children of God we are not to be consumed by these things. Our primary purpose is to please Him. Everything we are and everything we have belongs to Him. This is not reason for fear, but rather for peace and joy! He loves us, and what He has in store for us far surpasses anything we have here. He says a few verses later that we are to store up our treasure in Heaven rather than here on Earth.
We can become so consumed with anxiety about things that are happening or that might happen in the future. Worry can affect our health. Some of us have been overwhelmed by fear of the covid-19 virus. In theory, because prolonged stress can affect your immune system, you might actually get the virus from worrying about getting it.
It’s good to do what we can to avoid dangers we can reasonably expect or predict. It’s not good to let those worries consume our lives. We should never lose sight of the reality that our Heavenly Father, who cares for all of His creation, values us most highly. What could we possibly have to fear? Prepare wisely, but do not worry. God knows what you need, and He has chosen to give you the kingdom. We’ll spend eternity learning what that really means.
We’ll focus on Luke 12:25-32, but for the whole message with its context read Luke 25:13-34 at least.
