A Devotion
By Joe Guagliardo
It’s a New Year; put it in God’s Hands.
“Matthew 6:25-34”
December 31, 2023
Yesterday, my wife Kathy and I went grocery shopping at our local Aldi’s. I always go in alone to seek out an electric cart, as she is disabled. Very rarely, there is not an electric cart available. Happy to say there was one there this time too.
We went into the store, did our shopping, and checked out. When we arrived at our car, I opened the hatchback and began loading in our purchases. I was about halfway done when I noticed an older man (I’m 72, so yes, he was older than me) struggling as he carried his purchases without a cart to his car.
I stopped loading my own groceries, leaving Kathy in the electric cart, and ran up to the man to offer my assistance. He was very grateful for the help, as he was holding two large bags and a 12-pack of paper towels in his arms.
I took one of the bags from him, and we walked out to his SUV. As we walked, he thanked me and said he was “16 years shy of his 100th birthday.” That made him 84 years old.
He also mentioned that this used to be easier when he was younger. But the most incredible thing he told me was that he took no medications and had no ailments.
After I loaded his car and bid him farewell, I thought about the statement he made. He was 84 years old, had no health problems (except age), and took no meds.
I told Kathy, and like me, she was taken aback by that statement. Kathy (due to her M.S. and blood pressure) takes about 15 different medicines and supplements, and I take seven or eight.
**********************The Point********************
We all carry baggage, we all have problems.
When I saw the older man in the parking lot, he quite literally had baggage!
But we all have ailments and problems that we worry about. Here’s what Jesus says about that:
“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 clothes? 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?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, in all his splendor, was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So, do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34
Did you read that passage above? Again. And again, Jesus reiterates, “Do No Worry.”
Jesus says to not worry about clothes, food, or drink. What he’s talking about is everything. Do not worry. If I worried about my wife’s health or mine constantly, I’d never have time for living. And the same goes for you!
Jesus tells us to do two things, first:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Make God number one in your life, and He will take care of you.
Jesus also makes one more “Do Not” statement:
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
Keep the faith. Make God first, and don’t worry about what tomorrow will bring. Each day has its own problems. We can’t constantly worry about “What’s Next.”
We deal with what’s before us and ask God for help and guidance. He is always with us, “Even to the end of the Age.”
Have A Blessed New Year!
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