Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Mark 8:16-26

Mark 8:16-26

  Stop for a moment right now and think about the thing that is worrying you more than anything else...  Got it?  
  The disciples were with Jesus, who had just demonstrated a superhuman ability to produce abundant bread miraculously, and they were arguing with each other about not having bread.  The solution to their problem was directly in front of them, and yet they were completely missing the point.
  And so Jesus asks, "Do you still not get it?"

  Jesus asks the same of us.  We worry about all sorts of things... we worry about big things and little things and unimportant things and things that are vitally important.  We worry about ourselves and our family members and our neighbors and complete strangers on the other side of the world.  We worry.  
  And Jesus assures us that God provides for us, that God cares for us, that we are loved and treasured and safe for all of eternity.  This doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to us here on earth (just look at the suffering Jesus endured), but it does mean that in the big picture, we can entrust our worries to God because things really will turn out better than we can ask or imagine.  We will find our ultimate rest in God, and so we can sleep easier, trusting in the God who abides and the God who provides.
  Cast your cares upon Christ, for God cares for you.  You matter eternally, and you matter here and now.  Do not let your worries overwhelm you, rather pray them into the hands of God and live faithfully, with the confidence of a person who has read the end of the story and know that we emerge victorious.

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