The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Matthew 6:25-26, “”For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall

drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?

26″Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father

feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

Do you worry about things? Important decisions in your life? Health? Finances? Why do you do that? Anxiety is another word for worry. Jesus was very explicit when He said, “Stop worrying! Stop being anxious, and I mean it!” The word anxiety is clothed in the present, active, imperative form in Greek! But, why would the LORD forbid it?

One reason, is that excessive worry can be very harmful to the human body. It can affect the heart; it can affect the blood pressure; it can affect the digestive system; it can affect memory. It’s just not good to worry. The more we worry, the worse off we become.

Another reason not to worry is that worry is the opposite of faith. Yes, we need to eat proper foods; we need to drink a sufficient amount of water every day; we also need to guard our bodies against too much sunlight and against the cold. Missionaries are often confronted with the lack of these things when they go into foreign countries to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some have even been embarrassed by those they were there to reach: for they asked if the God they served could not take care of them! Ouch! That is precisely what Jesus meant.

He cites the birds of the air. “…they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns…(yet) your heavenly Father feeds them.” Are the birds more important to Him than you are? We must learn to trust the LORD in every situation, at every turn in the road. He alone knows what lies around the corner or what circumstance you or I are going to face tomorrow or next week.

Just a few verses beyond our verses above the Scriptures instruct us saying, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (v. 34). Don’t worry about tomorrow. The LORD has a way of taking care of it. There’s enough going on today, for us to concern ourselves about tomorrow. Turn your mind to the strengths and powers of the LORD. He has proved Himself sufficient again and again. Stay in the Word! Keep up with praying! Bury your thoughts in Him with His thoughts. Simply, trust and obey.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom