“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 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? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Many people experience various struggles in their lives; they can be addictions, strongholds or different temptations. My particular struggle involves fear and anxiety. As a middle- aged person, I didn’t really recognize the stronghold fear had on me until I experienced the pain of divorce five years ago. During that dark time, I was assaulted with more anxiety and fear than I thought one person could possibly handle. I turned to prescriptions drugs to help me function during the day and sleep a little at night. The idea of just choosing not to worry was not even a possibility because I was truly drowning in emotions beyond my control.
As I navigated the circumstances that were thrust on me as best I could, I began to see a pattern in my life and in the history of my family. Although I had been raised in a Christian home, I was taught a subtle untruth concerning poverty and lack. Somehow a lie was perpetrated that said God doesn’t really care about our provision and it is up to us to make our way in the world. We are on our own, and if we aren’t careful, the world will chew us up and spit us out. Even as I write this I see the horrible agenda of the enemy to diminish God to an uncaring, even powerless figure.
As I struggled to see the hand of God during this dark time, I realized that one thing he was trying to highlight was this deeply entrenched generational stronghold. I began to challenge and re-think my assumptions about God’s nature and character and slowly came to the realization that my family had it all wrong. Not only is God powerful enough to provide all our needs, he wants to do so. He delights in showing himself strong on our behalf, but he won’t do it against our will.
How does this work from a practical standpoint? I believe it is a constant heart and mind acknowledgement that God is on the throne. He is not impotent or uncaring. In fact, he has bound himself freely to me in covenant relationship, and he is unable to divest himself of his responsibility even if he wanted. I remind myself that his very nature does not allow him to neglect or abandon me. When anxiety and fear rise up to overwhelm my heart, I refresh myself in his love and provide no place for fear to take root. What I have learned is that we must align ourselves with the truth of God’s character in order to experience the reality of that truth.