By Greg Primm

It’s been happening quite a bit lately.  I brush my teeth, set the alarm for 5:30 am, read for a bit, fall asleep, and then thirty minutes later — BAM! — wide awake.  Sleep doesn’t come again for several hours.  I’m up.

I stare at a book for a while, surf the internet, read scripture.  But mainly I worry.

Did I forget to finish that report for work? Check my email on the laptop and . . . yep, sent it out this afternoon.

I’m not sure that bill got paid. Better check my bank account real quick. . . of course it got paid on time.

Is the garage door down? I bet I left it up when I took the trash out.  Take a quick peek and . . . it’s locked down tight.

Then the serious stuff comes:

Is my career headed in the right direction?

Do I spend enough quality time with my wife and daughters?

Why come we spend so much money?  And why does the guy down the street seem to be doing better than me financially?

If my spiritual life was better, none of this would even matter.

And so it goes, on and on for the next couple of hours.

This night sleep comes earlier than expected as I read my bible and stumble upon some words that bring peace.  I read them, take a deep breath, turn out the light, and hope the alarm doesn’t go off too soon.

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.  Matthew 6:25-34 (The Message)

Photo credit:   mrjoro