URC Daily Devotion Wednesday 12 November 2025

Jesus said  ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?”  For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’

Reflection

Don’t tell me that worrying doesn’t solve anything – most things I’ve worried about haven’t happened, so it must have worked! More seriously, as the cost of living seems to rise daily and poverty becomes more widespread, these words of Jesus seem rather inappropriate. How would we manage without budgeting and planning ahead, stretching the pay packet to the end of the month? When cutbacks mean redundancies or scarcity of employment opportunities, when medical and dental treatments seem hard to come by unless you go private at extortionate cost, how can we help but worry? And I am sorry, but if I walked down the street wearing only what God had given me for clothing, I’d probably find myself in a police cell (apologies for the mental image!) Is it a lack of faith when we find ourselves anxious about these things?
 
In challenging times there is a tendency to stockpile. My elderly relative still has so many toilet rolls in her cupboards that they’ll probably outlast her, reminiscent of the parable of the farmer building bigger barns. Of course Jesus isn’t telling us not to be mindful of the future and good stewards of what we are given. This is more about our priorities. The sad fact is that the world does have enough food for everyone to be fed – it’s just that some of us are reluctant to share it equitably. We have plenty to clothe us if we weren’t so afraid of looking tatty or being seen in the same outfit twice. Our priority should be God and God’s kingdom. In a time of increasing austerity, we may feel that we need to hold fast to what we have got, but the needs of those around us are also increasing. Can we trust in God and gift tomorrow’s excesses to feed the hungry of today?
 
Prayer

Lord, help me not to worry. 
Fill me with your peace.
Help me not to be selfish. 
Fill me with your love.
Help me not to be materialistic.
Fill me with your spirit.
Amen