28 And why do you worry about clothes? Notice how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth. 29 But I say to you that even Solomon in all of his splendor wasn’t dressed like one of these. 30 If God dresses grass in the field so beautifully, even though it’s alive today and tomorrow it’s thrown into the furnace, won’t God do much more for you, you people of weak faith? 31 Therefore, don’t worry and say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32 Gentiles long for all these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore, stop worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Reflection
Anxiety thrives on uncertainty—our need to control outcomes, to secure our future, to make sure everything turns out “just right.” Yet Jesus calls us to a different way of living. His way is marked by trust rather than fear. He calls us to rest in contentment now rather than continually chasing the thing that we perceive will lead to contentment tomorrow. Remember: you can never catch contentment, you can only allow yourself to be caught BY it. That was Sunday’s message.
“Notice how the lilies in the field grow,” Jesus says. “They don’t wear themselves out with work, and they don’t spin cloth,” and yet they flourish beautifully under God’s care. Unlike us, they do not fret about their future; they simply exist, trusting in the provision of their Creator. Jesus uses this image to remind us that since God is so faithful over the rest of creation, then God can certainly be trusted to provide for us, too.
Contentment is not complacency or laziness. Instead, it is the deep, settled assurance that our lives are in God’s hands. Anxiety constantly whispers that we must figure everything out and then work it out ourselves. Contentment rests in the truth that God already knows what we need and is at work all around us to bring it to pass. When we live in anxiety, we are consumed with what might happen; when we live in contentment, we trust in God’s presence here and now. Jesus does not promise a life without troubles, but he does invite us to release our anxiety about what tomorrow might bring. Today’s quota of worry has already been reached!
So what would it look like to let ourselves be caught by contentment? Perhaps it simply looks like letting ourselves be caught by God: surrendering the illusion of control, choosing gratitude over worry, and then breathing deeply and remembering that we are already held in God’s love.
by Joe Monahan
For Pondering and Prayer
What are you chasing? Have you ever considered that you might already have caught it?
Prayer: Loving God, you clothe the lilies of the field and care for all your creation. Help us to let go of our anxieties and trust in your provision. Teach us to rest content in the knowledge that you care for us deeply. May your peace fill our hearts as we learn to cease chasing after contentment and instead live in your presence. Amen.
