When I am afraid or worried, I put my trust in God.

The most important message I picked up from today’s readings overall is when I am afraid or worried, I put my trust in God.

My primary takeaway from each of the passages was this:

• Leviticus 21 & 22:  The holiness of the priesthood, impediments to the priesthood, and who gets to consume the sacred food offered on the alter. 
• Luke 12: Do not worry!
• Psalms 56: When I am afraid or worried, I put my trust in God.
• Proverbs 25: When you are confronted with the wickedness of evil people, stand strong and remember that you belong to God–there’s nothing they can do to harm you.

By far, the most important thing I got out of the reading today was the directive to stop worrying. Jesus has a lot of things to say in this chapter of Luke, but the one that always stands out to me, and seems to be the most important, is when he says:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (NIV version, Luke 12:22-31)

I have done a lot of worrying in my life. Every time I read this verse it both admonishes me and gives me comfort. It admonishes me because it confronts me with the fact that I sometimes lack faith and am fearful that my basic needs will not be met. It comforts me because it reminds me that my basic needs WILL be met, so I should stop worrying. It is a reminder that God is ever mindful of my needs, and that what I should be doing instead of worrying is to pray. When I turn to prayer, my heart and my mind are calmed and I am recentered.

Psalms 56 seems perfectly paired with this passage in Luke 12:

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you,
in God, whose word I praise,
in God I put my trust and have no fear,
what can mortal man do to me?

…You yourself have counted up my sorrows,
collect my tears in your wineskin…

This I know, that God is on my side.
In God whose word I praise,
In God I put my trust and have no fear;
what can mortal man do to me?”

The Psalms are full of readymade prayers for every occasion, and Psalms 56 provides the perfect prayer to pair with what Jesus tells us in Luke 12. If I find myself feeling afraid, I can read Luke 12 and then Psalms 56 to remind me of who I am and, more importantly, who God is.

Proverbs 25 is full of various snippets of wisdom, but when paired with Luke 12 and Psalms 56, the one that stands out the most to me is verse 26: “A churned-up spring, a fountain fouled; such is the upright person trembling before the wicked.”

When we find ourselves confronted with the wickedness of evil people who mean to do us harm, it is easy to resort to fear and worry. However, to give in to fear and worry not only undermines our own courage, but it provides a poor example for anyone who may need some courage and might be watching us to see how we respond. If we claim to have faith in God and collapse under pressure, what kind of example does that set? It’s okay to feel it, but we should remember to center ourselves, pray, and put our faith in God in such a situation.

In today’s reading in Luke 12, Jesus also says: “When they take you before synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say, because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

I won’t pretend that I have always behaved perfectly in stressful situations where I was confronted with relatives or coworkers who behaved badly towards me or who had evil intentions, but it always went better when I remembered to call on God in those moments, prayed, remembered who I am and who God is, and asked for the perfect words to handle the situation. When I did that, the perfect words always came to me, I kept my calm, and set a good example.

Today’s combination of readings reminds us that when things seem to be going in a bad direction, we can always regroup, recenter, and pray. Every day is a new day, and every moment is the right one to call on God for help, so there’s no need to worry about anything. God is in control.

That’s what I got out of it. What did you get out of the readings today?

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This post is part of the series, “Read the Bible in a Year.”

To see other posts in this series, go to the Chronological Index of Read the Bible in a Year Posts.