Overheard in an Orchard

“Said the Robin to the Sparrow,
‘I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush around and worry so.’

Said the Sparrow to the Robin,
‘Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me.’” -Elizabeth Cheney

Imagine Jesus sitting on a boulder with a crowd gathered around. Understanding their plight and anxiety He begins to teach them:
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? (Matthew 6: 25 – 27)

Now look in a mirror. Looking back at you is a person to whom His words apply. Let this phrase resonate in your mind, “…do not worry about your life…”

In essence invest your heart in heaven and the dividends resulting will be quiet enough to provide for you.

A Worth/Roper Survey last year found that among the things that produce anxiety in Americans are the following: making a wrong choice with major investments; having major dental work or surgery; being audited by IRS; speaking in public; being outdoors alone at night; getting fat; being pulled over for speeding; seeing one’s spouse flirt; doing your own taxes; being caught in a lie by a close friend; having a credit card declined in public; and using a computer. Want to add your own list to those?

Jesus’ promises and provisions are stamped on that list “Invalid Worry.”

Sure, some bad things will happen to you like they do to everyone. Having problems and challenges does not make you stand out from others.  Everyone does. Everyone.

Unfortunately not everyone has Jesus as their helpful Lord. If you do that makes you stand out. How you respond to your needs enables you to bear witness to the sufficiency of Jesus. This is especially true if you give Him credit for His blessings.

The word “worry” is from the Greek word “merimnao,” which means: “to be anxious about, to worry, be concerned for.” Jesus said don’t do it.

Jesus said, “Do not worry” – this is a present imperative with the negative, a command forbidding worry. It is a command. 

It was left to one who had a plethora of needs to tell us what to do about them. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God….” (Philippians 4:6) Do it!

Think about the conversation between the Robin and the Sparrow.

The Value of Worry

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Matthew 6:25

Jesus said, “Do not worry” – this is a present imperative with the negative, a command forbidding worry. It could not be said more firmly by a more reliable person, so, don’t do it.

The Apostle Paul expressed it this way: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6) 

“Be anxious for nothing”- the Greek construction forbids the continuance of an action already habitually going on. The word “nothing” is the Greek word medeis, it literally means: “not even one thing.”

Worry is unbelief! It is a failure to trust God to care for us. 

Don’t confuse concern with worry. It is proper to be concerned and work to resolve the concern with faith in the Lord for guidance. This is done with confidence and peace. It shows your opinion of God. To worry or not shows your opinion of God. Don’t try to excuse your worry by falsely calling it concern.

The Psalmist got it right, “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.” (Psalms 9:10)

“Those who know Your name” means those who know God’s character.

The value of worry is zero, nada, nul, ezer, nunda, rien, nichts, semmi, niente. Any way you say it it’s the same, nothing, you accomplish nothing by worrying. 

The better you know God the less you worry. If you habitually worry you need to get to know God better.

There is zero value in worry. It does nothing good for us. An average person’s worry is focused on: 40% – things that will never happen; 30% – things about the past that can’t be changed; 12% – things about criticism by others, mostly untrue; 10% – about health, which gets worse with stress; 8% – about real problems that will be faced.

Now consider, “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Matthew 6:27

This can be applied two ways. One is dimensional. A cubit is about 18 inches. Who can add such to their height by worrying? The second relates to your life-span. You can’t add years to your life by worrying. However, you can shorten it and along the way cause all sorts of problems.

Frame this and hang it prominently in your memory hall. “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.  Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” (Isaiah 26:3-4)

I Did My Best – Part Two

Ask yourself at the encroaching end of the day, “Did I do my best?” So live as to earn a sterling “Yes.”

Always have God in your heart, set goals and seek challenges; do your best in whatever you do; become a role model for those coming behind you. Your task may be small or great, but your accountability should be constant.

Northwestern University in Evanston, IL once had a volunteer life saving crew which was trained to rescue people in Lake Michigan. A passenger ship, “Lady Elgin”, was wrecked in a storm. A young student at Garrett Biblical Institute saw a woman clinging to a piece of wreckage far out in the breakers. He swam out and brought her back to safety. In the process he saw others. He continued to swim out and bring in others. His name was Spencer W. Edwards. After rescuing 17 he lay exhausted and near delirium on the beach. He kept questioning, “Did I do my best? Did I do my best?” When his brother told him he had rescued 17 he said, “If only I could have saved one more…”

When life nears its end and you straight-line you will have reason to ask, “Did I do my best?” So live that after your life’s last breath you will hear a calming voice say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

Did you hear the operative word, “Servant.” That is what we are. You may labor on the payroll of a company which is your employer. However, in that role you are God’s servant. Live that in the aftermath of each day you have cause to say, “I did my best.” 

You may be a domestic engineer, normally called a housewife, but in that role you are God’s servant. Servants all!

Michael Jordan, basketball’s GOAT, said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.” (In case you don’t know the meaning of GOAT, it means “Greatest Of All Time.)

Every person may have more failures than they might like to admit, but don’t quit doing your best. 

Show yourself grace and laugh at yourself. Don’t beat yourself up for what you couldn’t do, or didn’t do. Just do the best you can at the time.

In a parable Jesus told of three servants whose master was to be away. He gave each servant a different amount of money. When He returned He asked for an accounting. Each was accountable only for the sum given him. The amounts varied, but the accountability was the same. Don’t be preoccupied with another, just live as to know you did your best.

Whether you invent it, write it, saute it, clean it, crochet it, fly it, govern it, or plant it, do all to the glory of the Lord that you may garner the epithet, “I did my best.”

Did I Do My Best? Part One

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might….” Ecclesiastes 9:10  

God does not expect you to be the best at anything. He does expect you to be your best at everything.                    

When the young Naval Academy graduate Jimmy Carter was leaving an interview with Admiral Rickover the Admiral asked him, “While at the Naval Academy did you do your best?” When I preached his Inaugural Sermon one hour before he took the oath of office as President I reminded him of that. We all need to remind ourselves of that question. Did I do my best?

Consider these questions and ask them of yourself daily.

        Did I do my best to please the Lord?

        Did I do my best at showing interest in the welfare of others?

        Did I do my best to be content and fulfilled?

        Did I do my best to show appreciation?

        Did I do my best to find solutions to the problems I faced?

        Did I do my best to set clear goals and strive to meet them?

        Did I do my best to gain the Lord’s “Well done”?

        Did I do my best to do unto others as I would have them do unto me?

As you seek answers to those questions remember… 

What got you here won’t get you there. Things have changed and that energy has been spent. That being true, what will get you there?

The good thing about beginning these questions with “Did I do my best to…” is that it is almost impossible to blame someone else for my failure.  No one can be responsible for “Did I do my best to…” but me!

“…let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.” (Galatians 6:4)

In doing so you will have doubts. Elizabeth Elliot said, “Faith does not eliminate doubts, it just knows where to take them.”

You will encounter hellish obstacles. Sir Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Good council. Expect problems and you won’t be caught off guard. 

At the end of the day you will leave footprints. Make sure they will be where they should have been. At the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could, and that is good enough.

Say your prayers, do what you can, and you will have done your best.

At the end of the day just before you slip into unconsciousness your still small voice may ask, “Did you do your best?” May your answer be an emphatic yes. This way you can never feel negative about yourself.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2: 15

Belated Payment

There is a TV commercial that shows a young boy who has slipped away from his parents at a concert. When the curtain opens the child is sitting at the piano playing “Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star.” The parents are shocked when the concert artist walks up behind the child and reaching around to the keyboard  begins to improvise with the child all the time whispering, “Don’t stop. Don’t quit, keep playing.” Together they charm the audience. That artist was the internationally renowned Ignance Paderewski of Poland.                                                           The following is also a true story based on an incident that happened in 1892 at Stanford University. Its moral is still relevant.                                                               

A young, 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. A friend and he decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist, Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck. And the boys began to work to make the concert a success. 

The big day arrived. Paderewski performed at Stanford. Unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600.

Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a check for the balance of $400. They promised to honor the check as soon as possible.

“No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the check, returned the $1600 and told the two boys “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees and just give me whatever is left.” The boys were surprised, and thanked him profusely.                          

It was a small act of kindness, but it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being. Why should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations like these in our lives. 

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when World War I began, Poland was ravaged. There were over 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them. Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover who later went on to become the US President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved. He decided to come to America to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college in the US. I was one of them.”

What goes around comes around. It still does. Long ago instruction was given to ”Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”