Humans have a propensity towards worry. I have a propensity towards worry! This is why, I believe, Christ explicitly taught his people not to worry. If it was an easy task for us to put down the mental baggage of things that hold no eternal value, then it would have been an unnecessary lesson when Jesus addressed it in the famous Sermon on the Mount. But, in His infinite wisdom, He knows us. He knows our frailties and our earthly worries. He is aware of how things press on us and weigh us down. 

What, then, is the antidote? 

Matthew 6:33

Let's back up and briefly survey the context. 

Jesus was speaking to a substantial number of people from a Mount. This portion of scripture comes directly after Jesus addresses the matter of eternal treasures. After demonstrating the fleeting and corrupt nature of things on this earth (Matt 6:19), He goes on to address our human worries about earthly things. 

Jesus poses two key object lessons - perhaps drawn from the nature which surrounded them. 

1) Behold the fowls of the air - they are fed by the heavenly Father, yet they do not sow and reap as we do. God cares intimately for their daily need for nourishment. 

2) Consider the lilies - they grow and are arrayed in beauty as garments. God 'clothes' the fields in beauty yet they do not spin or toil to gain this. 

The concerns for food and clothing are the most basic of human needs, yet Christ tells us to not be anxious about them. Why? Because our "heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." 

Does this mean that we sit around and wait for God to provide? Well, in reflecting on other scriptures (e.g. 2 Thessalonians 3:10), I'd suggest that no we aren't to just sit around and wait for provision to drop in our laps, but this sermon speaks to the matter of our priorities. When our minds are consumed by earthly worries and needs, we miss the bigger picture. We miss the opportunities to seek His Kingdom. We miss the call to spread the message of His kingdom because we are too absorbed with the here and now. 

So, what do we replace our worry with? A focus on Christ's kingdom. An occupation with a heavenly agenda. 

Seek first the kingdom of God. 

On this resurrection Sunday, it is a beautiful thing to remember my risen Saviour. This verse has been on my heart all week & I've been particularly meditating on the phrase "as He said." Jesus promised to rise again. He promised redemption, and he completed it. We serve a God who keeps His promises.

I love the beautiful story that traces through all of the Old Testament - starting with God's promise to Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:15), the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12), the Jewish sacrifices that were mere pictures of perfect redemption to come and a reminder of man's inadequacy to redeem himself, Isaiah 53's prophecy, and so much more. Redemption and reconciliation were always on God's heart, and as we trace the pictures and prophecies all the way to the cross, we see perfect fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The resurrection was the culmination and completion of all that came before, as God purchased freedom for mankind.

I also love the words directly after this statement, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay." While I may not be able to travel to Israel and see the physical empty tomb, Christ invites me through the eyes of faith to see. The tomb is empty. What a wonderful truth to rejoice in.

Happy Easter, friends. And, if you do not know Jesus as your Saviour, I urge you to explore the gospel. Get in touch - I would love to share the good news of Jesus with you.

Hannah x

One Sunday morning after our Easter Sunday service at church, I was driving home and couldn't help but be in awe of the beauty in the clouds that day. It reminded me of this verse in Matthew 28:6 when the angel proclaimed to the women at the tomb of Christ, "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." What a joy it is to us that the Lord Jesus Christ rose again!