“Oh no! Why did you do that? Why did you bring your drinks downstairs?” My mom groaned.
Apparently, my kids spilled lemonade on her brand new carpet.
“But, Nana, we have water and we didn’t spill anything!” They said.
“Yes, you did. I see that big splotch on the ground.” My mom pointed at a big dark circle on the ground.
“But, Nana, that’s only a shadow.”
The closer mom got, the more she could see. The kids were right. What my mom was stressing about was only a shadow, not a spill.
How often do we see things that are only shadows? How often do we misconstrue words into something that another is not even saying? How often do we perceive what people are thinking, when they are not? How often does what we worry about not even come true? How often do our perceptions become projections onto others?
Jesus is wise.
Instead of worry, Jesus essentially says, “Hey you! Don’t run ahead… Don’t get ahead of yourself, or me, for that matter.”
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mt. 6:34)
We never really know what we face until we come face-to-face with the reality of it. That’s why we can’t make a mole into cancer. Or, a child’s actions into a proclamation of their life. Or, a husband’s lack of timeliness as a determination of who He is or, who we are. Or, our yesterday into a predictor of our today.
We do not know — until Jesus says it is time for us to know. There is no benefit to trying to figure things out, either.
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Mt. 6:27)
When we run ahead of God, we run out of grace. We run out from under grace’s cover. This is why worry, fear and anxiety mount. But, to stay with the Holy Spirit, in the present moment — is to keep peace and to walk in the ever-present help of God.
How is your mind prone to run ahead? Where do you lose peace?
What might God want you to know in your here-and-now?
Consider: Has God ever let you down? Has He ever stopped helping you? What did you worry about 3 years ago? How are things going now.
Take an opportunity to: Thank God. Release your worry to Him. Repent of fear. Renew your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, for He cares for you.
Things are not always as they appear. Darkness tries to fool us sometimes. Things are not as dim as the enemy wants to make them look. Raise up your head to see — where your light comes from — and you may get a whole new outlook as you do.
Prayer: Father, I know where my help comes from. My help comes from the Maker, the Creator and the Author of Life. Forgive me for looking left and right, into the past and way-ahead into the future. Holy Spirit is here with me, right-here, right now. I want to walk with you and talk with you. I want to be united with you, without stress and burdens. Will you comfort me and help me? I trust you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is right on time! New things are happening in my life, exciting things but it’s requires change and trust. For years I’ve leaned on my own understanding to make sense of the world. In my own misconstrue thinking I thought figuring it all out or trusting the narrative that my past wrote could keep me safe. But I’m learning how to trust God with my whole heart. This is a new place but it’s becoming sweeter the more I don’t try to think my way through everything but take each moment, each person, circumstance as it comes and just BE present. This prayer reflects my own to remain in present, not to far in the future or stuck in the past but Here Now. Thank you for this post Kelly!
Thank you! I really needed to read this today.
This hits home for me in many ways and a lot of the time I think that my life motto could be “Things are not as you think”. I’ve never been good at expressing myself and I feel like my whole life people have misconstrued what I’ve been trying to say or do into something I didn’t mean at all. I’ve been hurt so many times and had such nasty things said about me that now I find it so hard to be around people for fear they’ll misinterpret something I’ve said or done. I’ve tried to give this to God but it’s so hard. And I also tend to worry about everything, which I’ve also been trying to give to God. Thank you for this. I always appreciate your posts.