Matthew 6:34 | Life Giving Words of Hope & Encouragement by Jeff Davis

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

Driving into work this morning, I was overcome with a sense of all I needed to get done and everything I haven’t been able to accomplish lately. At one point, I looked down at the speedometer and realized I was even driving faster than I normally do. Granted, things have been crazy at work preparing for Easter and the Thorn production, renovating the campus, launching a new ministry and being the husband and father God called me to be, but I know I am not the only one feeling the pressures and demands of life.

God’s word tells us His grace is sufficient for us and that His power is made perfect in our weakness. When life continually piles circumstance after circumstance on top of you it’s really easy to try and carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but when we choose to trust God the oppressive burdens of life will be lifted. When I got to work I just closed the door and began to read the word of God and dwell in His presence and then I began to look inward because where we spend our time and treasures will illuminate the desires of our heart and this is so important because our heart always follows what we treasure most.

It’s so easy to make one small choice and then another and another and before you know it everything is out of alignment. In all things, God must come first, then your spouse, then your children/family, and then your career/ministry and then your hobbies/sports/interests. If you elevate any of these above the others, you are on the road to disaster. As life presses in on us from all sides we must carefully guard this hierarchy and the priorities in our life so when we are hard pressed on every side we won’t be crushed; so when we are perplexed, we will not be in despair and so when we are persecuted we won’t be abandoned and even when we are struck down we won’t be destroyed.

God is closer than you think; He often seems far because we have pushed Him in the background. The only thing any of us need more of is God.

When we allow God to open our eyes, we will see Him everywhere. When we allow God to open our hearts, we will be filled with His Spirit and we will feel His presence no matter what we are walking through. When things seem out of control, slow down and look to God, not as an escape from reality, but as a way to find true reality. Remember to give thanks in all things and trust God to see you through whatever is going on. When we thank God, we open the door for Him to come into our lives in a deeper way and it builds our trust, confidence and faith in the Great I Am!

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

Never in my life have I had to really upon God so much than I have this last month. I have pleaded for him to intercede in my daughter’s life as we walked through a painful chapter called the NICU and I have pleaded with God to heal my wife’s diabetes and to keep her cancer in remission, but trusting God to act in your own life is different; it feels more intimate.

3 weeks ago, I underwent a spinal fusion procedure meant to correct the damage inflicted during a severe vehicular accident while I was riding my road bicycle. Up until 10 days ago I would have told you I felt things were finally starting to improve and that I had turned the corner from the major surgical pain I was experiencing. That night, I went to sleep and upon waking up, I could not feel my left leg and my right hip felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing me with an ice pick while the sciatica shooting pain straight from the pit of hell had intensified exponentially down my right leg.
I was totally bed-ridden by this new onset of pain. What really terrified me was all the pain in my extremities had vanished after the surgery leading me to believe despite the surgical pain I was feeling, the surgery itself was a complete success.

Now you can probably imagine my horror and the thoughts that raced through my head: “I wondered if I did something wrong, or if something had broken off or come loose, or if they would have to operate again?”

After these thoughts began to race through my mind, I can remember the very instant because I could hear the enemy begin to whisper, “The surgery was unsuccessful and you will always be a prisoner to your pain.”
Immediately, I rebuked those lies in the name of Jesus, but I couldn’t deny my concern with the sudden onset of new symptoms.

Praise God, after viewing my scans and speaking with the doctor, he confirmed the promise God had already made to me: “My healing is real & God is true to His word.”

The doctor went on to say the symptoms I was experiencing were normal due to the sensitive nature of nerves and since my impingement had lasted for such a long time, there was quite a bit of uncertainty and unpredictability as to how long I would experience these new symptoms, but praise God we are not limited by man’s understanding of medicine.

I praise Jehovah Rophe for the work He has begun in me and will complete and I bind any lies or hindrances the enemy is trying to put in my path in the name of Jesus!

I can sense the enemy trying to do everything in his power to waiver my faith regarding the promise God made regarding my complete healing.
God knows me and He knows exactly what I need. If this journey has taught me anything it is to take one day at a time and to rely solely upon the Lord.

When we spend our time worrying about everything going on around us, we miss everything God is doing in our life, whether it is seen or unseen.
Beth Moore said something that has always stuck with me regarding fear. She said, “FEAR is nothing more that False Evidence Appearing Real.” When we allow our fear to overshadow the power of God, we limit His power which is unlimited! The more we begin to trust God and praise Him for what He is doing, the more we will see Him make ways where there are none. The more we begin to sing praises to the King of kings while our world is crashing in around us, the more we will see miracles happen right before our eyes!

I pray as you read these words you would begin to look at areas in your life where you need to trust God more and for areas you need to praise God more. When the light of God shines upon us, there is no limit to what He can accomplish in and through us!