John H. Stockton knows his stuff

Maybe it started on Sunday when the Bengals lost to the Steelers...nah...I'm getting pretty used to that by now. I'm not sure when it started but I'm in a pretty big funk right now. You all know that I don't sweat the small stuff. I don't even sweat the big stuff. I just don't get stressed. I'm also the least worrisome person you might know. I've always lived by the idea that what is the use in worrying because it won't get you anywhere. But for some reason, I was really in the dumps on Monday.

I'm pretty sure I know the one of the culprits, however. Money. It's what I think most of us worry about more than anything else. Look, I've wanted to grow up fast and be my own man, stand on my own two feet. But I'm just not making very much money right now. Any one who has seen my car and knows that I haven't bought myself any piece of new clothing since the US Open in July realizes I don't live a lavish lifestyle. But the fact remains, things are pretty tight. Trust me, I'm not writing this hoping for sympathy because there are people much worse off than me. I still have a nice apartment and I certainly don't go hungry. I've said it many times, I'm very lucky. But here's the deal. What happens when you take things for granted? What happens when you get comfortable? God is going to challenge you.

One of our biggest obstacles is trusting God to take care of us financially. I've always felt myself as a liberal giver of what I had, but maybe it's not enough. How much can my wallet be pushed before I stop trusting in God? I'll tell you right now that I won't. He's provided for me in so many ways that my apartment could burn to the ground right now and I would know it would be OK. My car could break down, and as long as I kept my trust in Him, He would help me.

Let's look to Matthew for a second...

25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Maybe the key isn't my failure to trust God, but maybe the key is my priorities. Is my priority having enough money to eat at the Pizza Hut buffet rather than eat a grilled cheese sandwich three times a week? More so, am I placing more priority on things that don't matter over things that do...like the work of God? Or maybe it's in whom I'm placing my trust. Could it be that I'm counting on myself to provide for me rather than God?

Verse 33 says everything I need to know. Seek FIRST the kingdom of God. Not second or third...FIRST. If I do, those things I worry about like gas money, rent money, utility bills...God will take care of them. I just love how the food and clothes were such an afterthought. It's almost like..."yeah, yeah, I'll take care of that stuff, but really, it's not a big deal at all." I often times think it IS a big deal.

I love playing old hymns with my acoustic guitar. Sometimes I'll even try to modernize them a bit, but the tempo or style doesn't matter if you listen to the words, and tonight, fittingly enough, I started to play this one...you might recognize it...

"Yes, Jesus is the Truth, the Way that Leads you into rest; Believe in Him without delay, And you are fully blessed. Only trust him, only trust Him, only trust Him now. He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now."