Trusting God

I am sitting on the balcony of my brother’s third floor apartment on the Westside of Stuttgart. It’s early Sunday morning and few people are up and at it, which is not the case for the swallows circling over the courtyard busy catching breakfast. I am reminded of, Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?” Matthew 6:26 (HCSB).Matthew 6:19-34 (Can I encourage you to get out a Bible and read that passage before you go on reading this pastor’s note) is about wealth, masters, worry, anxiety, and trust. Whom or what we trust has a big impact on our worries, our anxiety levels, our attitude toward and the handling of wealth, and who or what our master is. Jesus is saying, “You can trust God, the birds do, the lilies of the field do, so why not you?” Maybe you’re objecting because after all we’re not birds. None of those swallows checked on their investments last week, none of them had bills to pay on the first, they don’t have a boss, or job, or career to worry about, they’ve got it easy. Yes, all of that is true, but like you and me they do need to eat and drink every day, they have young ones to raise, and all kinds of things beyond their control affect the circumstances and wellbeing of their lives. Yes, they do not have human capacities, but they are like you and me creations of God, they like you and me have life, today, and if God wills tomorrow because God has granted it.We are more prone to trust in money, it can do so much, but it is never free of worry. Before you know it is your master, it will dictate your decisions, your attitudes, the very issues of your heart.We are prone to worry, to be anxious, so much is beyond our control and life is so precarious. Before you know it worry is your master, it will influence your decisions, your attitudes, your outlook, and the very condition of your heart and mind.Only God is completely trustworthy and completely able all of the time. It might seem strange to totally trust in someone you cannot see. But if you and I could see him he would be far too small to trust him with all we have and are. We yearn for God’s immanence but it is transcendence that displays his greatness, that invites us to trust in him and no other. He doesn’t just feed the few swallows in my field of vision, no, he feeds them all, all over the world, every day. He commands the universe and all that lies beyond space and time. It is He, Creator, God Almighty, omniscient, all-wise, holy, awesome, present everywhere, whom Jesus encourages us to trust. It is when we trust the Almighty instead of our wealth, when we rest in his control of things and not our capacity to figure it all out, when we “seek his kingdom and righteousness” (verse 33) that we experience the closeness, the nearness, the immanence of God along with peace, true riches, and life.All of this is not just fancy preacher talk, it is a promise of God, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” Matthew 6:33 (NLT).Is it time look at the birds of the air? To take a look at whom or in what you trust? To examine why and what you worry about? To seek the master of the birds? To really rust God? To live according to his promises? – Jesus clearly thinks so.To God be all glory. Love you Pastor Hans