“Why don’t you pray about it?” I asked her. “It is such a small matter,” she replied, “there are much more important things happening in the world that have God’s attention. I am sure that God wouldn’t want me to bother Him with this.”
Sounds like a good answer, but she is totally wrong.
“‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith?” Matt 6:28-30
Jesus calls it “little faith!” We demonstrate little faith when we think God cannot handle the “small matters.” Like clothing the wild flowers, that is a small matter. Instead we take these “small things” into our own hands and after a while, end up troubled and worrying about these. That is when we discover that the “small matters” are too much for us to handle.
In this passage Jesus encourages us to put our trust in Him for all matters of our daily life, no matter how small or simple it may seem, because we are important to Him.
In Matt 16:8 Jesus is teaching the disciples about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sudacees and accuses the disciples of having “little faith.” The disciples had misunderstood Jesus and focused their thinking on the physical bread they had left behind on the shore and failed to take into cognizance that Jesus was with them. Jesus reminded them that they had already seen that he could feed 5000 with 5 loaves and 7000 with 7 loaves. In this situation, with just 12 disciples to feed, he didn’t even need any loaves.
But here they were focused on the temporary issues of bread for the next meal. Their lack of faith had them worrying and arguing so that their minds were blocked to spiritual food being offered by Jesus. We worry about: personal financial management; navigating work situations; maintaining human relationships; managing the household; all common things we worry about which we consider small matters because of our “little faith”.
Jesus stands next to us, ready to provide what is needed, but we miss the growth in faith available to us by focusing on worldly issues, our “small matters”.
We don’t make the simple things of the world a matter of prayer when this is exactly what Jesus would have us do, so that we may live a worry free and tension free life. Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
Jesus wants us to “bother” Him with our “small matters” because He cares for us. We demonstrate little faith when we think that He cannot cope with the “big matters” AS WELL AS our “small matters.” We demonstrate “little faith” when we take matters into our own hands.
He longs to take care of everything in our lives, because He cares for us.
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt 6:31-34)
Here Jesus again reminds us, to seek Him first, to make Him our first priority and He will take care of our needs, no matter how small they may seem.
Journal Questions:
- Phil 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything…” Are you a person that prays about everything, no matter how small a matter it is, or do you only pray in situations where God’s intervention is needed? Look back over you life in the last year and evaluate how much you have prayed about everything?
- In Matt 6:33 we are told to “seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.” How much is this the start or habit of your life, where you begin to address the things that you are worried about?
- How many of the things that you worry about, are matters that You have not prayed about, or thought to pray about? Above it says that “we take these “small things” into our own hands and after a while, end up troubled and worrying about these. That is when we discover that the “small matters” are too much for us to handle.” To what extent is this true of your life?
- Jesus stands next to us, ready to provide what we need. If you took this statement seriously and believed it, how could it change your life?
Father, thank you that You are sovereign and in control of everything and that Your word promises me that I, the righteous, will not beg for bread. Instead you promise to provide for me if I look to You and make Your Kingdom my first priority. Thank you that I do not have to be anxious about the days ahead, but even in the little things, You are taking care of me because You care about me. Help me to build this confidence into my heart, so that my faith in Your care, will grow. I declare that I will no longer demonstrate “little faith” when I don’t bring you the little things I am worried about in my life to You. Instead I will pray about small things, as well as big things, being confident that You are interested in every aspect of my life.
My Journey:
Here I could say that Jesus was my first port of call in life, the first Person I turned to for most things. But not for everything. I still had a tendency to take the things that concerned me into my own hands and try fix them myself. Then when it became overwhelming, or broken, I would end up taking it to the Lord. An independent spirit that did not want to bother Jesus with the little things, because I wanted to do it myself. Not allowing Him to care for me because I thought I could take care of my own “wild flowers”, so to speak. Overwhelming myself with cares and anxiety, rather than just bringing everything to Him and doing it in partnership. Much as I thought Jesus was my first port of call, I wasn’t making Jesus my help from the start, seeking first the Kingdom as a practice of the day.
Then I came across this statement: God works for the good of the individual as well as the good of the whole
God pointed out to me, that in the context of the whole, I may feel like a drop in the ocean. In the context of what other people were going through and living with, the needs of others seemed greater than mine. I reasoned that it was better to keep quiet in prayer, because prayer for “them” was more important. Sacrificing what I would want from the Lord, for the greater good.
But the Lord pointed out that as my sacrifice worked for the greater good, God was working for MY individual good AS WELL as the greater good. He has it all in His hand and it was possible for Him to work it all out for the good for all (Rom 8:26-28 AMP).
“In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words. And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God’s people in accordance with God’s will.
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”
