He assumes that we WILL worry. And I would take a step back and remind myself and my readers that we're given teaching NOT to worry in several places in the NT. Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, what we'll eat or what we'll wear. And Paul tells us to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything let your requests be made known to God." So let's start with trying to let go of our anxiety and our worry and trust Him.
But.... St Augustine does give us good advice, because being human, we have a hard time letting go of our worry completely. Believe me. I spent the entirety of 2016 trying not to worry. And most of the time I failed. The worry would just jump on me again... the instant I stopped, it would leap back into my mind. Worry about senseless things that, of course, never happened. But I also discovered that the worry DID in fact drive me closer to God. It helped me to lose my bad habits and gain some good ones. It pushed me into a deeper relationship with Him.
So yes. When we struggle with fear and doubt and worry... seek solace in the heart of Jesus. He will be there for you, no matter what time it is or where you are or what you're dealing with. He's always there.
The thing that really jumped out at me in today's reading, though, was the idea that the happiness we look forward to will be so much greater than the joy we experience now. I never thought of that. I've been saying in many of my blogs how the joy we will see one day will make our suffering seem like nothing. But it never occurred to me that the joy we find in heaven will even make our present JOYS seem like nothing. That's something to ponder.
God, thank You for creating what "eye has not seen, ear has not heard"... what You've got ready for those who love You. Help us to lose our worry and trust in that promise.
1 comment:
Amen
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