LEFTOVERS

Matthew 6:34 GNT So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

When we’ve made a Christmas Day big dinner we always enjoy the leftovers next day for Boxing Day hash because they save us having to do another big cook up.😊 But there is a different kind of leftover that no one wants or enjoys.

I’m talking about the leftovers of yesterday’s worries, those words someone spoke, or things we’ve heard about that concern our friends or family and we worry about what has happened and how it will affect tomorrow. They’ve lingered in our minds causing us to bring them along with us into the new day to add to all the new worries! We forgot to hand them over to God to take care of them before we went to bed! 

I think we sometimes think God isn’t doing anything about them, or He’s off somewhere else and hasn’t the time for our cares! But really we know that’s absolutely not true and He doesn’t want us dragging into today any worries or unresolved issues from yesterday. 

Jesus said today’s worries are more than enough to handle and God gives us the grace and mercy for each new day which is why He tells us to come to the throne of grace to receive all the help we need.😊

We may have a habit of carrying yesterday’s worries not only into today, but looking ahead as to how to deal with them in the future, which is why Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow either! The trouble is, I suspect we’re ignoring what He says!

Psalm 68:19 NIV Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

There are many things we can do nothing about, which are out of our control, so if we have any unwanted leftovers let’s ask the Lord to help us leave them in His hands and look forward to a new day with our burdens being taken care of by the one who lifted all our burdens at Calvary. Amen.

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash

WANDERING OFF

Psalm 56:8 NKJV You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?

Have you ever been in the woods and you’ve wandered off down a path because it invited you in, only to find you’ve become a bit lost? It happened to my eight year old son many years ago when he wandered off on his own in the woods on holiday and we had to go looking for him! Thankfully we found him.😊

It can happen to us spiritually as well. We can be walking along quite happily and then for some reason we wander down a path of doubting what God has said in His word. We wander down the ‘what if’ pathway which is a dead end, or maybe we’ve gone wandering off into the distraction path of the internet or other pressing things like work, and we seem to feel a bit wandered or lost.

It’s interesting to know God knows all about our wanderings and He writes them in his book so He knows exactly where we are in order to bring us back again. He has seen all our tears of disappointment, of grief, and our tears of bewilderment when we don’t understand but we keep going, and He says they matter to Him so much He keeps them safe in His bottle until He can wipe them all away. I’m sure He must have many bottles!😊

So be encouraged today to know if you’ve wandered off a little bit, or wandered far away, the Lord is helping you find the way back to Him and to His peace. He assures us we can trust what He says and He will do what He says He will do, and I know we can all testify to the faithfulness of our God. 

Just rest in the certain knowledge that He loves you, and He cares deeply for you and about you. He says turn around and call out to Him, and He will restore and strengthen you. He will bring you back to His paths of peace and joy and the good plans He’s already prepared for you. In Jesus name. Amen.

Romans 10:13 GNT As the scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.”


Photo: Annie Spratt on Unsplash