Daily Devotional Details

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“Which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” Luke 12:25

Adding one hour to a 70-year lifespan would be an increase of about 0.0001%. The point of Jesus’ question is that this difference is hardly worth mentioning, and you can’t even do it!

Jesus is confronting us with our own inability: “Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:26). The length of a person’s life is determined by God. It isn’t something you can control, and no amount of worry will change it.

Try to hear these questions as if the risen Lord Jesus were asking you directly: By worrying, which of you can guarantee you become a perfect parent? Which of you can ensure your child has eternal life? Which of you can be sure they won’t have an accident?

The root of all worry is that we feel, “Maybe I can control these things.” If I can just get this parenting business right, all will be well with my kids (No it won’t!). If I get my children’s diet right, I can make sure they’re healthy. If I set the right boundaries, I can make sure they’re safe.

None of these good desires is under your control. Maybe you feel overwhelmed as a parent; well, Paul felt completely overwhelmed as an apostle: Who is sufficient for these things? Who is equal to this task? (2 Cor. 2:16).

That’s discovering your own inability, and it led Paul to say, “Our sufficiency is of God” (2 Cor. 3:5 KJV). Our only competence is that God is with us.

Have you discovered your own inability? That’s the first step of authentic faith.