NO WORRIES

PSALM 145:15-16 (NLT)
The eyes of all look to you in hope;
you give them their food as they need it.
When you open your hand,
you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.

LUKE 12:22-24 (CEB)
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. There is more to life than food and more to the body than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither plant nor harvest, they have no silo or barn, yet God feeds them. You are worth so much more than birds!

SUMMARY SENTENCE
No need to stress -- God will provide what you need.

PRAYER
Thank you, God, for attending to all my needs. Forgive me for giving into worry when things get tight. Use your indwelling Holy Spirit to rewire my disposition so that I'm more completely relaxed. I'm not going to worry because I know that you've got it. Amen.

STRENGTH FOR THE MEEK

JEREMIAH 27:5 (NLT)
With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose.

MATTHEW 5:5 (NTE)
Blessings on the meek! You’re going to inherit the earth.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Because God is the strongest and most powerful being he will lift up those of his own choosing -- including the humble, powerless, and broken.

PRAYER
Creating God, your outstretched arm is at once power and grace, from which bursts forth all life. Forgive me when I boast about my abilities and make arrogant demands on your goodness. Create meekness in my heart that looks to you alone. Make me humble enough to receive gratefully the inheritance of the earth you so abundantly bequeath. Amen. (Daily Texts, Ground Up Grace edition)

CALL GOD

PSALM 138:3 (MSG)
The moment I called out, you stepped in;
you made my life large with strength.

ROMANS 10:12 (MSG)
It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”

SUMMARY SENTENCE
Get help by calling God.

PRAYER
Gracious God, thank you for your eagerness to help everyone who asks. I confess that in my small-mindedness I'm inclined to limit your generosity to the people who are most like me. I've created a mental world where I'm the definition of your favor. Expand my experience of your assistance so that I call on you more often and encourage more people to do the same. Amen.

GOD LEADS

2 SAMUEL 22:19-20 (NLT)
The LORD supported me.
He led me to a place of safety...

MATTHEW 9:9 (CEB)
As Jesus continued on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at a kiosk for collecting taxes. He said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him.

SUMMARY SENTENCE
God leads us to a better spot.

PRAYER
Gracious God, thank you for calling us to follow. I confess that I often see it as a duty to follow your leadership rather than that you are leading me to a better spot. Help me to trust that you are always working to make things better for me. I'm going to trust that your leadership is more than an obligation. Amen.