Devotion for April 28 from Vicar Anand Darla of Good Shepherd South Asian Ministries:
Luke 12:22
And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on
Do not be anxious
The key to understanding this passage before us explains not to be anxious for your life, consider the ravens, consider the lilies, seek the kingdom and these things will be added to you, where your treasure is your heart will be also, these are verry familiar things. But as we pull the passage together, the thing that ties it all up is a statement that Jesus makes three times essentially. Verse 22, “Do not be anxious,” and then verse 29, “Do not keep worrying,” and then verse 32, “Do not be afraid,” and “Anxiety-Free Living,” or “Stress-Free Living.” The Lord Jesus in Scripture at least twelve times is recorded to have said, “Don’t worry, don’t be anxious,” and He explained why on the occasions in which He said that. On a number of times He said, “Don’t be afraid,” and explained why. Anxiety-free living is part of what the Lord offers that’s what he came to this world us.
We understand why the world is stressed out. we understand why people are anxious. we understand why they worry. We understand why they have panic attacks. It’s frightening to be dangling in this inexplicable universe and feeling all alone and not being able to figure out why you’re even here and where you’re going, these feelings are getting common to each individual during this pandemic. We are living in an anxiety-ridden culture. And the amazing thing about it is this is the most indulged, the most lavish society ever, this is the most comfortable society ever, this is the society that has the most, but it seems to be the most angst-ridden, anxious, stressed out, panicked culture ever. We have a massive medical world that exists to do nothing but help people with stress. No worry goes unnamed. No worry goes undefined. No worry goes uncatalogued. No worry goes undiagnosed. And no worry goes unmedicated. They just go unrelieved. People live with anxiety. They live with worry. They live with stress. But it’s so common that we don’t even talk about eliminating it. The term is “to manage it.” You take a course, go to a seminar, listen to a lecture, buy a tape on stress management like it was a baseball team, needed a manager, or a production line. Then Jesus comes along and says, “I’m not going to teach you how to manage your stress, but I’ll eliminate it”. Lord’s word repeatedly says as below that banish your anxiety and He is risen and Jesus will eliminates for sure.
Ecclesiastes 11:10
So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.
May God bless us.
Vicar Anand Darla GSSAM, Fremont