“Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Luke 12:25
Jesus is asking His disciples this question. These are His words to those who confess that He is the Christ and are committed to following Him in a living relationship of faith.
Jesus says to them “Do not worry.” Then He goes on to list the worries that would have been at the top of the list in His day: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear” (12:22 NIV).
If you had done a straw poll of a mother’s top worries in the time of Jesus, the answers would have been: Will I be able to put enough food on the table? Will I be able to keep my children clothed and warm? How will I be able to survive?
Jesus was speaking to the big worries of his time, and so we need to grasp what He is saying and apply it to our worries today.
Worry is a hidden question that needs an open answer. It thrives in the darkness. That’s why worries usually increase at night, as the anxious mind wanders and imagines all kinds of horrendous scenarios. Worry needs to be exposed. It needs to be brought into the open. The only way to overcome its dark power is to bring it into the light.
Write down your worries. Can you bring them into the light of God’s truth, by matching each worry with something God has said in the Bible? Now bring them to God in prayer.
