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Time for a little relaxation


“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." (Matthew 6:33)

Everyday human concerns - we all have those, don't we? What to eat for dinner tonight - what to wear to that upcoming special event - where to get our car repairs done so you don't get ripped off by some untrustworthy mechanic - common human concerns. We spend so much time with the everyday human concerns that we sometimes miss the very important message that they ALL have already been met! The best move we can make when these concerns surface is just 'relax' into Jesus - he has it all under control. 

That doesn't mean the dress will magically appear in our closet, or that there will be blinking neon lights telling us this is the mechanic we should use, but it does mean we don't have to fret over these things. God will help us sort all of them out - when we relax and find our direction in him. Fussing over things - no matter what they are - isn't going to make them come faster or be any better than when he provides as he will provide.

Sometimes we are so preoccupied with the 'everyday stuff' that we forget God in the mix of all that preoccupation. We forget he is with us. We forget he goes before us. We forget he hears us even before we cry out. Why? Where there is preoccupation, there is no room for occupation! We need to rid ourselves of all that 'preoccupies' the space in our lives that he desires to indwell. When we are finally 'empty' of what preoccupies us, he is free to bring his peace and relaxation into our lives.

Fret if you must, but I have come to realize it matters very little - I have wasted precious time fretting. I have filled my life with useless actions, all in the name of 'everyday human concerns', only to find there will be tons more tomorrow. Worry isn't going to make the answer come quicker. Relaxing into Jesus just might bring what we don't expect, when we least expected it. Relaxing into Jesus is really just a way of showing him how much we rely upon him. Just sayin!

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