OCTOBER 12, 2015
Not My Worry
Read:
Isaiah
40:25-31
Cast
your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. — 1 John 5:13
A man worried constantly about everything. Then one day his
friends heard him whistling happily and looking noticeably relaxed. “What happened?”
they asked him in astonishment.
He said, “I’m paying a man to do my worrying for me.”
“How much do you pay him?” they asked.
“Two thousand dollars a week,” he replied.
“Wow! How can you afford that?”
“I can’t,” he said, “but that’s his worry.”
While this humorous way to handle stress doesn’t work in real
life, as God’s children we can turn our worries over to Someone who has
everything perfectly under control even—especially—when we feel it is not.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that God brings out the stars and
calls them all by name (40:25-26). Because of “his great power and mighty
strength” not one of them is missing (v. 26). And just as God knows the stars
by name, He knows us individually and personally. We are each under His watchful
care (v. 27).
If we are inclined to worry, we can turn that worry over to the
Lord. He is never too weary or too tired to pay attention to us. He has all
wisdom and all power, and He loves to use it on our behalf. The Holy One who
directs the stars has His loving arms around us.
Lord, You know there
are times when I get really scared. And I forget that You have promised that
You will never leave me to face difficulty or loss alone. Help me to trust.
Worry ends where faith begins.
INSIGHT:
The title “the Holy One” or “the Holy One of
Israel” is the common designation for God in Isaiah, occurring about 26 times.
This title is often accompanied by other names, such as “the Lord Almighty”
(5:24; 47:4), “the Light of Israel” (10:17), “the Mighty God” (10:21), “Maker”
(17:7; 45:11; 54:5), “the Sovereign Lord” (30:15), “Savior” (43:3), “Israel’s
Creator, your King” (43:15), and “the God of all the earth” (54:5). In calling
God “the Holy One of Israel,” Isaiah extols His complete holiness. Yet within
the same breath Isaiah speaks of God as the “Redeemer,” celebrating His tender
mercy and compassion (41:14; 54:5; 59:20; 60:16). Sim Kay Tee
Source: Our Daily Bread 2015