"Consider the Raven"- Peace
Happy Sunday! Welcome to the first official blog for our series, #SpiritApplied, a weekly devotional aimed at improving our daily lives by studying divine literature.
I wasn’t exactly sure what today’s topic was going to be until I sat down and started researching. But, incidentally, I realized that right now, a lot of people are going through very difficult times. That’s quite the understatement. With the pandemic, political and social discourse, economic downturn, and an uncertain future, I feel everyone is more on edge and stressed that fear has crept into everyone’ psyche. No one knows what daily life will look like in the future. No one knows who to trust to believe what the right thing to do is. And no one knows exactly how to deal with this new way of life.
And this is why I think more than ever, we need to start getting into the word. Start looking at things through God’s eyes. For nothing down here will provide an answer.
And it’s also why today’s topic is about peace. Let’s look at what Jesus has to say in Luke 12:22
Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, 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, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
It’s pretty easy, especially nowadays, to get lost in the details. We tend to look at problems in our lives so closely that they fill up our vision until it’s all we see. But really, are our problems really that big?
For the majority of us, we have pretty pathetic problems. Being late to work, having difficult people in our lives, our order from a fast food joint being incorrect, etc. And then there are problems that are so broad like: Which career should I follow? What’s the future going to hold? Should I make this financial Investment? All of these are problems, and yes, they are very real, but they should not be taking our peace away.
For really, what are these issues when looking at the scale of your life? In verse 23, Jesus says “For life is more than food and the body more than clothes”. We must focus on things that truly matter. Things that are above this earth. Loving your God, and loving those around you.
Think about when you are stressed. Do you really act like a loving and positive influence on those around you? Of course not. When we’re stressed we’re in survival mode. We obsess over our problem until it consumes everything. We lash out towards others, we develop bad habits, and it can even cause physical side effects. So what does stress help solve? Absolutely nothing! It only makes things worse! This is what Jesus is saying when he says “ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Worrying adds nothing.
I heard a great quote about worrying that I really liked. I tried to find it, but people seem to be conflicted about who actually said it. It went something like: ”If you can do something about a problem, whats the need of worrying? If you cannot do anything about it, what’s the use of worrying?” Either way, you don’t have any reason to worry.
Now, for sure, there are some who definitely have extremely large problems. And if you, reading this, are going through something truly difficult, I want you to know that even these problems are small when compared to the power and majesty of our Lord; there is nothing that He can’t overcome. And that’s the key message here. We have to start looking at things through God’s eyes. Start asking what He wants us to do instead of figuring it out on our own. And I know you can see, just by watching the news, no one here knows what they’re doing.
So start putting on your Jesus goggles. Stop looking at your small problems in life and start looking at where you can make a difference. Start seeing what you can do. Maybe that means being more encouraging to those around you. Be patient to your coworker is freaking out because their child has been cooped up at home. Start being an example to others when it comes to cleanliness and responsibility, but without the judgmental attitude. Start listening to the other side of a political debate. We will only get through this if we take a deep breath, see what we can start fixing, and focusing on what really matters
Thank you for taking your time to read this! I know it’s not perfect, but I am learning and if you can take anything that can help your life from these devotionals, it’s all worth it to me. I’ll leave you guys with a video talking about the biblical use of the word “peace” that I found really interesting. See you next Sunday!