March 25, 2000
James Tuttle

Word:
Jesus heard what they said, and he said to Jarius, "Don't worry. Just have faith."

~ Mark 5:36

Don't worry and ask yourselves, "Will we have anything to eat? Will we have anything to drink? Will we have any clothes to wear?" Only people who don't know about God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these. But more than anything else, put God's work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well. Don't worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.

~ Matthew 6:31-34

Thought:

Are you worried and overly stressed out? Worried about where to go to college, worried weather such and such likes you, worried over the 10 page paper you've got due tomorrow, or how `bout if your fly is zipped when you walk into a party? Well don't worry; have faith. You're all probably wondering, "does that mean that if I have faith my paper will be done when I wake up in the mourning [sic]*?" Well unless you have enough faith to move a mountain, you're probably going to have to sit down and write your paper. But you don't have to worry about your problems and stress over what will happen. There is a beautiful quote: "We plan, God laughs." It doesn't matter how much you worry or stress; it won't change the problem. Instead, have faith that God knows what he's doing. God only gives us situations we can handle; trust in him and look to God to see what he would have you do. I know, your problem may seem huge, but all you have to do is take a step back, take a deep breath, have a little faith, and pray.

*Editor's note: the spelling "mourning" was left in place to show a possible pun to show that should one choose to see if a paper will magically write its self, one would indeed mourn the loss of a good grade on the assignment.

Prayer:

Dear God, please help me to have faith in you and to stop worrying about my earthly struggles. Help me to understand that my problems will not be fixed through worrying. Guide me down the path that you would have me take. Lead me one step at a time through the journey, and help me to understand no matter how hard the trial, you are there for me.

Amen