Daily Devotional: February 1

Week Two, Day One, The Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter Six

I could do an entire month of meditations on Matthew six, it's that rich. It contains the Lord's Prayer, probably the most well known section of scripture in the Gospels, and I am not even focusing on that passage today. In this sermon, Jesus is laying bare the ethos of the Kingdom He is bringing onto earth--telling us what type of person is going to be created in this new world. 

How can your life be simplified?

The most amazing mornings in my life are spent with a cup of warm coffee and people I love. Stressful mornings, when I have to rush out the door and sprint to the train and gulp too-hot-coffee are unwelcome parts of my life. Stress makes our bodies react in terrible ways. It destroys relationships, makes us fat, and ruins otherwise beautiful mornings. 

Jesus' message at the end of chapter about worry continues to hit home for me. It is the section of the Bible I have read the most in the past year and I continue to be amazed by it. Don't worry about your clothes, your food, or your life. That is an important message for us 21st century Westerners, but imagine Christ's first audience. Their next meal wasn't as guaranteed as ours. They likely only had one set of good clothes. They have every right to be worried about their lives, and Jesus is telling them not to worry about anything. 

How can your life be simplified?

The more we worry, the more we will be overcome with desire for the things we don't have. The more we worry about food and clothes, the more money will become our master. The more we worry about our lives, the more we will seek recognition from other people. Worry is the source of these problems, and the source of worry is a lack of contentment.

Simplifying life involves slowing down, removing the unnecessary things from our lives, and ending the competition for who can be busiest. It is a radical change in behavior for so many of us. It involves relentless trust in provision that comes from outside ourselves. It involves giving in to the idea that we don't spin the planet. 

Our phones don't hold the secret of life.

Our schedules don't make us.

Our happiness isn't found at warp speed.

Spend some time in silence. Repeat the verse "Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" slowly. Take two breaths to say it. 

Breathe in

"Sufficent for the day,"

Breathe out

"Is its own trouble."