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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 1, 2005 Knowing Jesus |
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Frontline Devotion for Tuesday, February 1, 2005 by
Brenda Kessler
Matthew
6: 25-34
Today’s text is about worry. “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 important than clothes? 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? Who of you by
worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Recently all four of our children and our unmarried daughter’s boyfriend
gathered in the waiting room of a local hospital while my husband underwent
major surgery. The “three-hour surgery” became a three and one-half
hour surgery and then a four-hour surgery and then a four and one-half hour
surgery and finally a five-hour surgery. We waited patiently, sharing
concerns about the length of the surgery, sharing stories, and even laughing at
times. The next day, when our daughter was taking her boyfriend to the airport,
he told her he was amazed at how calm we all were. “Everybody I have ever
stayed with at a time like that would have been in a panic state.”
Later in the week I shared the boyfriend’s comment with our other daughter as
we chatted over an evening meal in the hospital cafeteria. Without
hesitation she said, “They don’t know Jesus.” I was taken back by
this comment that came from a daughter who does not often engage in Jesus talk
and yet I found myself rejoicing. I found myself being thrilled with the
knowledge that Jesus is my daughter’s friend.
“They don’t know Jesus.” I have thought a lot about that comment
since then. Does this mean if I know Jesus I do not worry?
Does this mean if I know Jesus I am calm at all times?
The answer, at least for me, is “no.” There are times when I am
anxious. In fact, my nursing education and experience tells me that it is
critical that we not hide those worrisome feelings. To be both emotionally and
physically healthy we need to share what we are feeling.
So what difference does knowing Jesus make? Knowing Jesus allows me to go
to Him in prayer and experience the calm He brings in a trying situation.
Knowing Jesus helps me to know that others are praying for me as well.
Knowing Jesus helps me to express honest feelings with others who will not judge
me because of the feelings I am having. Knowing Jesus helps me to know
that I am accepted just as I am.
Knowing Jesus does, indeed, calm the troubled waters!
Prayer: Thank you, God, for giving us Jesus who hears our worries and
calms our fears. Thank you for giving us people who bring your love to us.
Thank you for loving us just as we are. In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
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