This week in our examination of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares some words of wisdom on the worries we carry in our lives and how we address them.

Odds are, wherever you are today, there is something worrying you in your life right now. Between managing jobs, school, home, and our relationships, we all have a lot of people counting on us. This pressure to succeed weighs on our minds and hearts and sometimes it feels as though we are given no reprieve from the worry. Where the world offers us such advice as, “Hakuna Matata” and “Don’t worry be happy”, Jesus says, “…seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Of all the things that we see and feel when worry is getting the better of us, with a little perspective, we may also see worry is an opportunity. Moments of worry show us we’ve reached the end of ourselves and we must hand our trust and our lives to the wisdom of God. Our worry reminds us we’ve placed our faith in our own ability to manage our lives and surroundings and our relief can be found in prayer and surrender to our Father in Heaven.

When worry weighs down our heart and mind, as it inevitably will, we can take pause to ask ourselves what part of God’s character do we need to trust more? God has blessed us each with our own responsibilities and talents to manage them, but none of us are so talented to no longer need Him to help us on the journey.