Check Your Height

Turning Point devotion: Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?Matthew 6:27

Popular culture has commented on "worry" more than once in recent years. Mad magazine used its iconic "Alfred E. Neuman" mascot on the cover with the phrase "What, me worry?" beginning in 1956. And in 1988, Bobby McFerrin's song "Don't Worry, Be Happy" reached number one on the pop charts. But there was something wrong with both those sentiments: no reason was given for not worrying.

Nearly two thousand years earlier, Jesus of Nazareth told His followers not to worry and gave them a godly reason why: because God would provide for them just as He does the rest of His creation. Jesus' words on worry form a key element of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6. Jesus points out that the birds of the air and the lilies of the field are provided for beautifully and faithfully—and we are much more important to God than these. Besides, "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" (verse 32). Instead of worrying, Jesus said to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness, and everything we need will be provided for us.

If you have been worrying lately, check your height—has worrying added "one cubit to [your] stature"? (verse 27) Try seeking God instead.

Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but will get you nowhere. Unknown